(ECNS) -- More than half of Chinese stock investors have never profited from the stock market, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on Tuesday, citing a new survey.
The survey involves 5,429 investors who have opened accounts at 23 Chinese securities brokerages.
The survey shows that just more than half, or 50.43 percent, of the investors have suffered losses since opening an account, while 44.83 percent have made money from the market, with 2.62 percent reporting earnings double their original investment. Another 4.73 percent are not sure about their performance.
The survey indicates that losses are attributable to various irrational behaviors, including overconfidence and overreaction, along with factors like frequent trading.
While 17.37 percent of investors choose to hold the same stock for one or two years and 8.86 percent for more than two years, the majority opt for less than a year, which also results in a surge in trading costs.
Also, many investors have yet to tap the potential advantages of investment portfolios. Only 27.45 percent hold more than three stocks, and nearly half of investors hold just one or two stocks, which makes them more vulnerable to market risks compared to portfolios, the paper said.
According to the survey, Chinese stock investors are mainly above 23 years old, accounting for 78.63 percent of the total, and only 2.65 percent are below 22 years old.
With regard to background, 69.57 percent have received college education or above. While 45.63 percent have more than five years' experience in investing, 4.7 percent are new to securities markets. Nearly 80 percent of the respondents say their total investment is less than 500,000 yuan ($74,788).
