Investment decisions could be affected by behavioral biases associated with personal characteristics. This study empirically investigates the effect of personal characteristics on investors’ investment decision through risk tolerance. Furthermore, investment experience moderates the nexus between personal characteristics and risk tolerance. The scale consisting of 24 items was used related to selected constructs and variables. Data was collected form 175 individual investors of Pakistan Stock Exchange. PLS-SEM was used to make statistical analysis. The findings indicate that extraversion has substantial positive impact on investment decisions. Moreover, risk tolerance partially mediates the relationship between extroversion and investment decisions. The relationship between introversion and investment decisions is negative and risk tolerance partially mediates the aforesaid relationship. Furthermore, it is statistically proved that investment experience substantially moderates the association between extraversion and risk tolerance. However, investment experience does not play any conditional role in the association between introversion and risk tolerance. This study can be helpful for financial advisors to provide best consultancy to their clients (investors), while considering their personal characteristics.

Microfinance aims at providing productive loans to deprived segments of society that helps in poverty eradication. Existing studies ignore some essential factors of business environment, which can influence the performance of microfinance institutions. We have collected data from the Doing Business project of the World Bank and audited financial statements of 52 Asian non-banking microfinance institutions for the period of 2012–2016. This study has employed system method of moments (GMM) technique with xtabond2 command, and the findings of analyses reveal the significant impact of different business environmental factors such as getting credit, protecting minor investors and paying taxes on financial performance of selected institutions. These findings recommend that practitioners need to pay particular attention to the formulation of such policies that can help these institutions in coping better with their external business environment.

Using the Fama-French three factor method, the size sorted liquidity-based three factor method, and the Fama-French five factor model, this study explores the dynamics of price discovery and asset pricing in sustainable equity portfolios. Based on the findings of the study, we propose the liquidity based three factor model as a significant explanatory model for the pricing of sustainable equity portfolios in Pakistan. However, all the five factors i.e., market premium, size premium, value premium, operating profitability, and the investment factors from the Fama-French five factor regression for small conservative and small stocks with high Book-to-Market were observed to be significant. Furthermore, we found evidence of the price discovery variable in some portfolio classes that were constructed from the asset pricing models. The findings of this study suggest that in Pakistan, liquidity is a critical pricing factor, and should not be overlooked while making investment decisions. Furthermore, portfolios where price discovery were found may be useful for further portfolio optimization and profit maximization.

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