Over the last few years, the savings and investment patterns of the household sector has been shifting. This article analyzes the investment objectives, preferences and patterns of individual households and studies the effect of various socioeconomic factors on these aspects.

This article aims to study the awareness and preferences of investors for different investment options available to them and to analyze the factors influencing their perceptions and preferences. More specifically, an attempt has been made in this article to measure the level of awareness of investors about several pre-identified investment products; to rank the investment products in terms of awareness; to analyze the relation between awareness and socioeconomic factors relating to the investors; to study the preferences of investors for different investment products; and finally to identify the factors influencing investor awareness and preferences.

The objectives for making investments are many and varied and differ from person to person. These may be either to get a regular, uniform, safe and continuous return in the future with moderate risk or to enjoy the benefits of capital appreciation with attached risk. An individual's investment objectives also depend on various personal factors, such as his/her age, income level, sex, occupation, educational level, etc.

A close observation of the data furnished in Table 6 indicates that the percentage of responses of the sample investors is not equally distributed among different occupational categories for various investment channels. It may be noted that the level of awareness among the full-time salaried persons is significantly different from the other occupational categories of respondents, namely, retired persons and self-employed persons. This leads to a conclusion that the occupation of the investor may be a factor influencing his level of awareness about an investment option.

Further, a reading of the information provided in Table 7 exhibits a similar picture, wherein the percentage of respondents belonging to the full-time salaried class, who expressed their level of awareness about various investment avenues, is significantly greater than that of other occupational categories. On the whole, it is found that investors, who are full-time salaried persons, had better awareness of the various investment alternatives, as compared to the investors of other occupational categories.

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