Retail investors’ perception and attitude towards different investment avenues: an empirical study from Coimbatore district

The present study aimed to understand the retail investors’ perception and attitude towards investing in different investment avenues. Simple random sampling method was adapted in this study to collect 150 samples from respondents located in Coimbatore city. The reliability of the data was analysed via Cronbach's Alpha and statistical tools such as factor analysis and chi square test was used to analyse the data. The study found that safety and children's education are the dominant reasons for the respondents to invest in different investment avenues. The respondents believed that investing in equity share and chit funds are at high risk and those two avenues are not in their preferred investments. Post office schemes, bank deposit and government securities are the mostly preferred investment avenues of investors from Coimbatore city. Demographic profile such as gender, age, education, marital status, number of family members and individual risk taking level are significantly associated with their investment decision.