Saving for a Rainy Day… or a Trip to the Bahamas? How the Framing of Investment Communication Impacts Retail Investors

Little is known to date regarding how the framing of investment communication impacts retail investor propensity engage with financial products. To explore this lacuna, we apply insights from regulatory focus theory and construal level theory, vary communications in terms motivation (protect vs. achieve) time horizon (distant near) presented a 2 × quasi-experimental design. We also include an analysis characteristics find that ‘short-term achieve’ investments attracts particularly risk-tolerant sensation-seeking individuals, posing questions responsibility towards potentially vulnerable groups. negative attitudes finance may be troublesome, as they can stop individuals engaging ‘long-term’ Positive finance, contrast, lead investors ‘protect’ products both ‘short-’ horizon, highlighting benefits for society interventions aimed at education exposure. The study concludes by discussing literature practitioners application new data management communications.