MICRO-INVESTMENT APPLICATIONS AND WEALTH CREATION

BEHAVIOUR AMONG GEN Z: A BEHAVIOURAL FINANCE PERSPECTIVE

Authors:

Krithisan A

CMS Business School, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University)

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Abstract: The financial landscape has changed quite dramatically over the past decade, mostly because smartphones got cheaper and fintech platforms started popping up everywhere. This study looks at how micro-investment applications — think Groww, Zerodha, Jar and similar platforms — are shaping the way Generation Z (born roughly 1997 to 2012) actually behaves when it comes to building wealth. We approach this through a behavioural finance lens, which means we are interested not just in what people invest in, but why they do what they do, and whether emotions and social pressures are getting in the way of sensible long-term decisions.

Data were collected from 100 Gen Z respondents in India using a structured questionnaire. We used percentage analysis, Chi-square tests, Pearson correlation, and one-way ANOVA to examine how app usage, ease of access, behavioural biases, and social media influence connect to wealth creation patterns. Results show that while these apps have genuinely made investing more accessible and more frequent, the presence of overconfidence, herd behaviour, loss aversion, and impulsivity still undermines long-term financial discipline. Financial literacy came out as a key moderating factor — investors who knew more made markedly more confident decisions. The study concludes that technology alone cannot create wealth; it needs to be paired with financial education and disciplined behaviour.

Keywords: micro-investment applications, Generation Z, behavioural finance, wealth creation, fintech, herd behaviour, loss aversion, financial literacy, India