IMPACT OF FINANCIAL LITERACY AND GENDER ON INVESTMENT INTENTION OF UNDERGRADUATES: WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO FINAL YEAR, FINANCE UNDERGRADUATES IN WESTERN PROVINCE STATE UNIVERSITIES

Abstract

"In a volatile emerging economy like Sri Lanka, cultivating an investment culture among educated youth is a national imperative. This study addresses a critical empirical gap by investigating the determinants of investment intention in this unique context, moving beyond research from stable, developed nations. It focuses on final-year finance undergraduates, a litmus test group, to explore whether intensive, specialised education can reduce traditional gender differences in financial attitudes, a question that has not been answered in the region. We conducted a quantitative survey with 150 finance undergraduates from state universities. We gathered data using a structured questionnaire with adapted validated scales and analysed it with a multiple linear regression model to test the study’s hypotheses. The regression analysis yielded a strong model (F(1,148) = 227.456, p < .001), accounting for 60.3% of the variance in investment intention (Adjusted R² = 0.603). The findings showed that financial literacy is a strong and significant positive predictor of investment intention (β = 0.741, p < .001). In contrast, gender did not have a statistically significant impact (p = .886). The most important contribution of the study is the clear evidence that specialised financial education can make gender an irrelevant factor in investment intention among a highly educated group. This suggests that the often-cited gender gap in investment may stem from knowledge and confidence issues rather than being an inherent trait. These results offer a clear recommendation for policymakers: to create a new generation of informed investors, policies should focus on practical, inclusive, and gender-neutral financial literacy programmes.