Skip to main content Start main content

PolyU Study Shows Investors Tend to Overestimate Their Investment Acumen

11 Oct 2023

Left: Ms Dora LI, General Manager of the Investor and Financial Education Council; Right: Prof. Eric CHUI, Head of APSS and Co-Director of the Policy Research Centre for Innovation and Technology at PolyU


Commissioned by the IFEC, the Department of Applied Social Sciences (APSS) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University conducted a groundbreaking Behavioural Science Study on Investor Behaviour in the Virtual Asset Markets: Heuristics in Virtual Assets Investment Decision-Making, with an aim to explore the behavioural factors that affect virtual asset investors’ investment decisions.

The result showed investors tend to use “heuristics” (mental shortcuts) to select easily available information for processing and tend to overestimate their investment acumen.

The Investor and Financial Education Council (IFEC)’s “Retail Investor Study 2023” also reveals that 23% of young respondents have invested in virtual assets and related products in the past year. The ratio is three times higher than the overall number of respondents and surpasses the 12% recorded in 2021. 

Over 70% of the respondents cited the pursuit of short-term returns, considering it as an investment trend, and the fear of missing investment opportunities as the reasons for their investment in virtual assets.

Professor Eric CHUI, Head of the Department of APSS and Co-Director of PReCIT of PolyU, said that virtual assets tend to have higher risks compared to traditional investment products and urged investors to make rational investment decisions with caution.

 

Online Coverage:

Now TV Programme (時事全方位)

First Episode: https://www.news.now.com/home/local/player535598

Second Episode: https://www.news.now.com/home/local/player535599

Now TV - https://finance.now.com/news/post824337

SCMP - https://www.scmp.com/tech-trends/article/3237602/ (subscription required)

Oriental Daily News - https://hk.on.cc/hk/bkn/cnt/finance//2023101118101100842

Hong Kong Economic Journal - https://polyu.me/46pdifz

Hong Kong Economic Times - https://polyu.me/3QbnZwn

Sing Tao Daily - https://std.stheadline.com/realtime/article/1957029/

Headline Daily - https://polyu.me/3RVIRsN

Ta Kung Pao - https://epaper.tkww.hk/a/202310/12/AP6527029

Hong Kong Commercial Daily - https://www.hkcd.com/hkcdweb/2023/1011/content8604123

Economic Digest - https://polyu.me/48LJGdL

ETNet - https://www.etnet.com.hk/www/tc/news/ETN331011601

Commercial Radio Hong Kong: https://www.881903.com/2505764/

RTHK: https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/1722708-20231011

Fortune Insight - https://fortuneinsight.com/web/instant-news/5725302/

Quamnet - https://www.quamnet.com/4CZYNbB5FD6NgLhH2MhVI 

Infocast - http://www.firstworldsec.com.hk/FirstWorldSec_aspx/viewInfocast4149968&

The Standard - https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news/256886

am730 - https://www.am730.com.hk/404814

Lion Rock Daily - https://dw-media.tkww.hk/hker/20231012/p03-1012.pdf



Your browser is not the latest version. If you continue to browse our website, Some pages may not function properly.

You are recommended to upgrade to a newer version or switch to a different browser. A list of the web browsers that we support can be found here