INTRODUCTION

The financial system in India is undergoing a rapid phenomenal change, mainly after the
improvement in the economic sector. An efficient, competitive and expanded financial
system is vital to increase the rate of capital structure, increase the return on investments
and to promote growth of the economy. The emergence of various financial institutions
and regulatory bodies such as SEBI, IRDAI etc. has transformed the financial services
sector from being a traditional industry to a dynamic one. With a growing awareness
among the investors, there has been a distinct shift from investing the savings in physical
assets like gold, silver and land to financial assets like shares, debentures and Mutual
funds.

Many factors influence the investor’s behaviour towards investment such as information
source, Locus of control, behavioural, economic, psychological, lifestyle and risk factors .
Among all this age is a very important factor which influences investors because with age
risk taking capability of investor decreases and he moves towards less risky investment
options (FD, Post etc.) from high risk investment options (Shares, Mutual funds etc.)

Currently there are various investment instruments available in Indian market such as –

1. Public Provident Fund (PPF)

2. Mutual funds
3. Post office saving schemes
4. Investing in stocks
5. Fixed deposits (FDs)
6. Gold/Silver
7. Real estate
8. Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIP) etc.

The purpose of the analysis is to determine the investment behavior and investment
preferences of investors of various age group in Udaipur. This report will provide us how
investor’s perception and his risk bearing capabilities changes according to their age.