Title: Criteria of optimal portfolio selection: evidence from private investors in Greece and Poland

Authors: Mihail Diakomihalis; Alina Hyz; Maria Parlinska; Grigorios Gikas

Addresses: Department of Accounting and Finance, Technological Educational Institute of Epirus, 48100 Preveza, Greece ' Department of Accounting and Finance, Technological Educational Institute of Piraeus, 12244 Aigaleo, Greece ' Department of Agricultural Economics and International Economic Relations, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02787 Warsaw, Poland ' Department of Accounting and Finance, Technological Educational Institute of Epirus, 48100 Preveza, Greece

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the investment portfolios determinants using a sample of Greek and Polish private investors. The study is grounded in the current and potential criteria and sub-criteria influencing investors in selecting financial investment products. The methodology applied in order to satisfy the research aims is the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). This is a flexible and functional tool for investigating multi-criteria decision-making problems that allows the determination, evaluation, and comparison of major criteria by stakeholders. The results show that there are considerable differences in the ranking and significance of factors that determine the selection of financial investment products in these two countries. The importance of those factors has implications for the decision-makers in the banking sector.

Keywords: investment portfolios; analytical hierarchy process; AHP; optimisation; portfolio selection; private investors; Greece; Poland; banking industry; multicriteria decision making; financial investment products.

DOI: 10.1504/IJFERM.2016.082956

International Journal of Financial Engineering and Risk Management, 2016 Vol.2 No.3, pp.155 - 171

Received: 26 Feb 2015
Accepted: 13 Jul 2015
Published online: 17 Mar 2017 *

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