We propose to examine the factors impacting the motives of the investors during the bullish and bearish market phases using the theory of reasoned action (TRA), prospect theory (PT) and expected utility theory (EUT). The present study employs two cross-sectional investigations of the investors during the bullish phase, Study A (205 investors) and bearish phase, Study B (185 investors), to explore the motives of the investors. The hypotheses are tested using PLS-SEM. We found a significant symmetry in the motives of the investors between the bullish and bearish phases. Financial knowledge (FK), expected return (ER) and attitude (ATT) of the investors significantly affect the motives in both the market conditions; however, dividend (DIV) does not influence the motives of the investors during the bullish phase, while it does during the bearish phase. The study provides useful information on the motives of the investors and will help them when entering the stock market. FK remains a key skill that can be capitalized on by investors, regulators and brokers in the market conditions. The understanding of the motives will provide a cue to the regulators and policymakers to institute guidelines to minimize the effect of the loss of investors.
Sanghvi et al. (2026) studied this question.