Religion and Individual Investment Choice Decision: The Case of Malaysia
Dr. Nurasyikin Jamaludin

Abstract
This paper explored the role of religion in individuals’ investment choice decisions. A survey involving 440 employees was used. The Chi-Square test results indicated significant differences in investment choice decisions between Muslim and non-Muslim respondents. There was an equal proportion of Muslims maintaining their savings in the default fund as well as investing part of their savings in a unit trust fund. In contrast, a majority of non-Muslims preferred to invest part of their savings in the unit trusts. Religiosity was viewed from a multidimensional approach and accordingly two sets of instruments were used: the Religious Commitment Inventory (RCI-10) and Muslim Religiosity. The Chi-square tests results indicated no significant differences in investment choice decision among individuals with different levels of RCI and Muslim religiosity respectively. These results suggest that religiosity does not significantly influence individuals’ investment choice decisions, particularly when it comes to investing part of their retirement savings in a unit trust.

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