The Impact of the Big Five Traits and Mood on Investment Performance – A Study of Individual Investors in Vietnam

The study explored the effects of the Big Five traits and mood on investment performance of individual investors trading on the Vietnam stock market. The author firstly used in-depth interviews for five of the investors who each have 10 years of experience of financial investment to receive their advice as well as recheck whether questions are suitable for Vietnamese situations, and then surveyed 255 investors. Results showed that Conscientiousness, Openness to experience, and Agreeableness had direct impact on investment performance. In addition, Conscientiousness, Openness, and Extraversion influenced investment performance through the mediation of positive mood. Conscientiousness, Openness and Extraversion directly affected a positive mood while Agreeableness and Neuroticism directly affected a negative mood. This study suggested that individual investors should have positive mood when investing in stocks. Moreover, investors who are prone to neuroticism rather than other traits, they refrain from investing in securities