Risk Perception and Portfolio Choices among Finance Professionals: Insights from an Indian Emerging Market Context

Abstract

Investment behaviour in emerging economies has increasingly attracted scholarly and policy-oriented attention because of the rapid expansion of financial markets, growing investor participation, and rising financial literacy among different sections of society. India, as one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world, has witnessed substantial growth in stock market participation during the last two decades. Technological advancements, expansion of digital financial services, increasing financial awareness, and greater accessibility to investment platforms have significantly transformed the investment environment in the country. Within this evolving financial landscape, finance professionals such as Chartered Accountants (CAs) and Company Secretaries (CSs) represent a highly significant category of investors because of their specialized knowledge relating to accounting, taxation, auditing, corporate governance, financial management, and regulatory systems. The present study examines the risk perception and portfolio choices of finance professionals in the Indian share market with special reference to the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), one of India’s most economically vibrant and financially active regions.The study adopts a conceptual and analytical approach by integrating traditional finance theories with behavioural finance perspectives to understand how financial expertise, demographic characteristics, market exposure, and psychological tendencies interact in shaping investment decisions. The paper critically examines the relationship between financial literacy, risk-return perception, portfolio diversification, behavioural biases, and investment decision-making among finance professionals operating in an emerging market context. The study highlights that although finance professionals generally exhibit comparatively informed, analytical, and structured investment behaviour, their investment decisions are not entirely free from behavioural and emotional influences such as overconfidence bias, herd behaviour, anchoring effect, and risk aversion. The paper further emphasizes the significance of diversification strategies, financial awareness, technological accessibility, and regulatory understanding in shaping portfolio behaviour among professionally qualified investors. The findings of the study contribute significantly to the existing literature on behavioural finance and investment behaviour by providing a nuanced understanding of how financial expertise influences investment patterns in an emerging economy like India. The study also possesses important implications for policymakers, financial institutions, investment advisors, market regulators, and individual investors in designing effective financial literacy programmes and improving rational investment practices within the rapidly evolving Indian financial system.