The impact of anchoring bias on investment decision-making: evidence from Ghana

Purpose The objective of this paper is to explore how anchoring affects the dynamics of investor decision-making with regard to mutual funds and how this bias differs amongst gender and level of financial knowledge. Design/methodology/approach An experimental research design was adopted to uncover the relationship between the variables under study; this involved the use of a questionnaire with an embedded experiment. Data obtained from the study were analysed using Pearson's chi-square test and two-way analysis of variance. Findings The findings show that, overall, investors were prone to be significantly influenced by the anchoring bias. The study finds a strong, albeit not significant, association between participants' susceptibility to anchor and both gender and the level of financial knowledge of participants. Females were observed to be more likely to anchor than their male counterparts. Also, a higher level of financial knowledge did not help to reduce the possibility of anchoring; it rather increased it. Research limitations/implications The findings of the study cannot be interpreted as suggesting causality as the study only tests for association between variables and not causality. Additionally, external validity cannot be fully established as a result of the quasi-experiment approach used. Practical implications The study adds to the body of knowledge on the influences of behavioural biases in the sub-region to make investors aware of their biases in order to minimise the influence of these biases on their investment decisions. Originality/value This study differs from earlier studies in that it analyses the presence of anchoring as influenced by a completely different set of variables (expertise and gender) and also does it within the context of an African country where there remains a paucity of research on behavioural finance.