Behavioral Factors and Risk-Taking in Financial Markets

Dear Colleagues,

Traditional finance assumes that investors are rational agents who optimize risk and return. However, research in behavioral finance has shown that cognitive biases, emotions, and social interactions can profoundly influence how individuals and institutions perceive and take risks. These behavioral factors not only affect portfolio choices and trading strategies but also shape asset pricing, market dynamics, and systemic stability.

This Special Issue focuses on the interplay of behavioral factors and risk-taking in financial markets. We cordially invite both theoretical and empirical contributions that advance our understanding of the behavioral dimensions of risk-taking, as well as interdisciplinary work that integrates insights from economics, behavioral finance, and risk management. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Behavioral determinants of portfolio and trading decisions;
• Overconfidence, loss aversion, and other cognitive biases in risk-taking;
• Herding, sentiment, and collective behavior in markets;
• Behavioral aspects of volatility, liquidity, and market anomalies;
• Risk perception and decision-making under uncertainty;
• Interactions between behavioral tendencies and financial innovation (e.g., algorithmic trading, robo-advisory, and fintech platforms);
• Policy and regulatory implications of behavioral risk-taking.

This Special Issue aims to provide a forum for advancing research at the intersection of behavioral finance and risk management. It complements the existing literature by examining how behavioral factors directly shape risk-taking decisions and their consequences for financial markets, offering valuable perspectives for academics, practitioners, and policymakers alike.

Dr. Ying Wang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Risk and Financial Management is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.