Cape Town - Online investing has seen rapid growth since the rise of the internet.
In Europe alone, online retail sales rose by 14% last year to more than £50bn, with predictions of continued growth. In the US, online investments accounted for almost 40% of all retail trades.
Online investing provides investors with an opportunity to lower transaction costs at greater convenience and with control over their own investments, all benefits that have contributed to fast and continuous growth in the vehicle.
Investors participating in online investments are known as individual investors, as they independently execute transactions.
Individual investors use online virtual investment communities (VICs) to seek, disseminate and share stock-related information.
This type of stock-related information provides prospective individual investors with the ability to make better investment decisions by monitoring the decision-making of other individual investors.
The VIC platforms also provide a number of comprehensive online financial services and tools to allow individual investors to manage their financial interests through an integrated service.
To determine the effectiveness of VICs for individual investors, as well as what characteristics are required by a VIC to ensure member loyalty and in turn ensure commercial success, you are invited to complete a survey questionnaire.
The questionnaire has been approved by the University of Cape Town ethics committee. The collective findings will be captured in a report that will be presented to UCT, and may also be published in an academic journal or presented at a conference.
To complete the questionnaire, please click here.