Behavioral Factors and Risk-Taking in Financial Markets

A special issue of Journal of Risk and Financial Management (ISSN 1911-8074). This special issue belongs to the section "Financial Markets".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 1512

Special Issue Editor

Massry School of Business, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA
Interests: empirical asset pricing; mutual funds; hedge funds; fixed income markets
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

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

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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.

Keywords

  • behavioral finance
  • risk-taking in financial markets
  • cognitive biases
  • investor behavior
  • market sentiment
  • market anomalies
  • portfolio management
  • decision-making under uncertainty
  • behavioral risk management
  • financial innovation
  • algorithmic and robo-advisory trading
  • fintech and digital investing
  • regulation and policy
  • market fragility

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 351 KB  
Article
From FII Dependence to DII Dominance: Behavioral Dynamics and Minskyan Risk in India’s Stock Market
by Suneel Maheshwari and Deepak Raghava Naik
J. Risk Financial Manag. 2026, 19(5), 315; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm19050315 - 26 Apr 2026
Viewed by 371
Abstract
This study examines how market leadership in Indian equities has structurally shifted away from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) toward domestic institutional investors (DIIs) and mutual funds (MFs), and it evaluates the systemic risks created by this rebalancing. Using monthly transaction data from April [...] Read more.
This study examines how market leadership in Indian equities has structurally shifted away from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) toward domestic institutional investors (DIIs) and mutual funds (MFs), and it evaluates the systemic risks created by this rebalancing. Using monthly transaction data from April 2007 to January 2026, we analyze evolving investment patterns among FIIs, DIIs, and MFs by employing trend analysis, Pearson’s and Spearman’s correlation analyses, phase decomposition, stationarity tests, Granger causality analysis, ARIMA modelling, and GARCH volatility estimation. Since 2021, FIIs have recorded cumulative net outflows exceeding ₹8.68 lakh crore (US$95.36 billion), while DIIs mainly led by mutual funds financed largely through Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) have made net purchases of over ₹19.37 lakh crore (US$212.67 billion), effectively absorbing FII selling and helping to maintain elevated index levels. The trend continues with SENSEX having remained above 80,000 points through 2025 despite persistent FII disengagement. The DII share of total market purchases rose from approximately 39% in 2017 to over 54% by January 2026, documenting a structural shift in market composition. The results show that DII flows have stayed positively and significantly correlated with SENSEX, with FII flows being significantly negatively correlated. Granger causality tests suggest market-responsive rather than market-driving behavior by domestic institutions. Drawing upon Minsky’s financial instability hypothesis and behavioral finance frameworks, we interpret that prolonged domestic absorption of FII exists where direct fundamental evidence is unavailable. The Minsky-type fragility interpretation is offered as a structured hypothesis for future empirical investigation. The findings carry important implications for retail investors, fund managers, and regulators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Behavioral Factors and Risk-Taking in Financial Markets)
22 pages, 2282 KB  
Article
Limits to Arbitrage and Speculative Bubbles in Emerging Stock Markets: Evidence from Gold-Backed Certificates
by Turgay Yavuzarslan, Bülent Çelebi and Selman Aslan
J. Risk Financial Manag. 2026, 19(2), 121; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm19020121 - 5 Feb 2026
Viewed by 817
Abstract
This study examines the pricing efficiency of the Mint Gold Certificate (ALTINS1) traded on Borsa Istanbul and its relationship with the underlying asset (gram gold), focusing on the structural break identified in the data. Analyses conducted using Mann–Kendall trend analysis, the Pettitt structural [...] Read more.
This study examines the pricing efficiency of the Mint Gold Certificate (ALTINS1) traded on Borsa Istanbul and its relationship with the underlying asset (gram gold), focusing on the structural break identified in the data. Analyses conducted using Mann–Kendall trend analysis, the Pettitt structural break test, Rolling Window regression, and the Threshold Error Correction Model (Threshold ECM) reveal that certificate prices have systematically decoupled from the underlying asset, creating a persistent premium exceeding 16%. The findings indicate that the risk structure of the certificate has diverged from the underlying asset, the market has become desensitized to high premium levels (asymmetric threshold effect), and prices move independently of fundamental value through a speculative feedback loop (Granger causality). The study argues that the root cause of this anomaly lies in the “Limits to Arbitrage” problem stemming from supply constraints and short-sale bans, offering new evidence on the pricing efficiency of financial innovations in emerging markets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Behavioral Factors and Risk-Taking in Financial Markets)
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