Institutional Investor Behavior: A Comprehensive Study at the Pakistan Stock Exchange

The primary aim of this research is to study the impact of the behavioral factors shaping the investment decisions of institutional investors operating within the Pakistan Stock Exchange. Additionally, the study investigates the relationship between these behavioral factors and investment decisions, considering the moderating impact of investment experience. Given the scarcity of studies on behavioral finance in the Pakistani context, this research anticipates making a substantial contribution to the advancement of this field within the country. Building on established behavioral theories and prior research, the study posits four categories of behavioral biases, Self-deception (encompassing Self-attribution and Overconfidence), Heuristics (comprising Representativeness, Loss-aversion, and Anchoring), Emotions (specifically, Regret aversion), and social biases (including Herding). The sampling approach employes stratified random sampling, wherein the fund managers at Pakistan stock exchange (PSX) are divided into four strata based on homogeneous characteristics, then data is collected using questionnaire from each stratum. Subsequently, the collected data is analyzed using SPSS, incorporating techniques such as Exploratory Factor Analysis, Regression, Correlation Analysis, and Moderation Analysis. The findings of the study suggest the presence of distinct behavioral factors that significantly influence the investment decisions of institutional investors at the Pakistan Stock Exchange. Notably, all biases exhibit a significant positive impact on investment decisions, except for the herding bias. The research findings also indicate that, contrary to expectations, there is no moderating effect of investment experience on the relationship between investment decisions and behavioral biases among institutional investors.