Financial Investment Habits and Behavioral Finance Tendencies During the Covid-19 Pandemic Process(Covid-19 Pandemi Sürecinde Finansal Yatırım Alışkanlıkları ve Davranışsal Finans Eğilimleri)

Tendencies such as overconfidence, avoidance of regret, which prevent individual investors from making rational decisions, can be effective in investment decisions of investors, especially in times of crisis, instability and uncertainty such as Covid-19, which has intense social and psychological effects. The purpose of this research is to examine the investment behavioral finance tendencies of individual investors during the Covid-19 pandemic period in terms of socio-demographic characteristics and some investment habits. For this purpose, the answers of 384 individual investors were accessed via online survey method. The results of the analysis showed that during the pandemic period, investors avoided uncertainties and risks more, preferred low-risk and relatively less income, but more reliable investment options, mostly aiming to protect capital. Behavioral finance tendencies of investors such as risk assessment, risk and uncertainty avoidance, and loss aversion have come to the fore. Women, those aged 56 and over, retirees, and those living with their families were the groups with the highest risk and uncertainty avoidance. Those who frequently follow up on economic and financial developments and investments, and those who consider themselves financially literate, have a low tendency to avoid risk and uncertainty.