A Study on the Trading Behaviors of Individual Investors during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic

Purpose – This research investigates the trading patterns of individual investors participating in the KOSPI stock market during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic, thereby explaining the indisputably low performance compared with institutional and foreign investors. Design/Methodology/Approach – Daily KOSPI stock market data was used, and the data period ranges from 2018 to 2023. The total period is divided into 12 sub-periods. For each sub-period, 25 stock-groups were generated by the magnitude of net purchases of individual investors at 4% intervals. Periodic information on returns, volatilities, and the net purchases of institutional and foreign investors were also utilized in the analysis. Findings – The sub-period analysis shows that the ratio of individual investors’ net purchases was negatively correlated with periodic cumulated returns, and the ratio of institutional and foreign investors’ net purchases with a strong statistical significance. The total period analysis also confirms the negative relationship between the ratio of individual investors’ net purchases and periodic cumulative returns, and shows a positive relationship between the ratio of individual investors’ net purchases and the change in volatilities. It was also revealed that the low performance of individual investors results from the choice of transaction timing, not from the choice of stocks. Research Implications – Empirical results imply that individual investors need to be cautious in determining the timing of transactions, thus utilizing the negative relation between the ratio of individual investors’ net purchases and the ratio of institutional and foreign investors’ net purchases merits consideration to enhance the profitability of individual investor portfolios.