Rakuten Securities Releases 'Behavioral Finance Research Report 2026 Edition'

Rakuten Securities Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Yuji Kusunoki; hereinafter 'Rakuten Securities') announces the release of the 'Behavioral Finance Research Report 2026 Edition' on July 14, 2026. The report, based on an internet survey conducted from January 16 (Fri) to January 27 (Tue), 2026, among Rakuten Securities customers (26,534 responses), investigates the relationship between individuals' psychological traits, financial literacy, and actual investment behaviors.

This year's report includes the regular survey on financial knowledge (understanding level, number of correct answers to basic financial questions), attitude (long-term perspective), and behavior (rational judgment ability), with a special focus on examining the relationship with 'investment grip strength'—defined as the tolerance for losses that allows investors to continue managing assets such as stocks and investment trusts without being swayed by short-term market fluctuations. The analysis of the survey results was conducted from a behavioral finance perspective with the cooperation of Professor Katsuhiko Tsunotani of the Graduate School at Hiroshima University (Headquarters: Higashi-Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture; President: Mitsuo Ochi; hereinafter 'Hiroshima University'), a National University Corporation.

Since the launch of the new NISA system in 2024, an increasing number of people have begun asset formation, integrating it into their daily lives. At the same time, the stock market has remained unstable, with several instances of sharp market fluctuations due to rising geopolitical risks. In such an environment, the ability to maintain long-term investment—'investment grip strength'—without being influenced by short-term market movements is expected to become increasingly important. This survey analyzes tendencies associated with lower 'investment grip strength' and explores the mindsets necessary to resist short-term market volatility in long-term investing.

'Behavioral Finance Research Report 2026 Edition' Summary

Individuals with low scores in financial knowledge, attitude, and behavior, as well as impulsive individuals, tend to have lower 'investment grip strength.'

'Investment grip strength,' essential for long-term investing, is found to be associated with financial understanding, long-term perspective, and rational judgment ability.

Not only financial knowledge, but also high levels of financial attitude and behavior are suggested to be related to higher 'investment grip strength' and lower levels of retirement anxiety and impulsive behavior.

Key Insights from the 'Behavioral Finance Research Report 2026 Edition'

'Investment grip strength' is defined as a metric measured by a survey question: 'Assuming you hold ¥1 million in investment trusts, to what percentage of decline can you continue holding without selling?' It represents an individual's resilience against short-term market fluctuations in long-term investing. This survey confirmed that insufficient financial knowledge, lack of long-term perspective and rationality in daily investment and household financial management, and impulsive personality tendencies are characteristics associated with low 'investment grip strength,' leading individuals to sell investment trusts even after minor losses.

Detailed Findings from the 'Behavioral Finance Research Report 2026 Edition' Survey

[Question] Assume you have invested ¥1 million in an investment trust. If a loss occurs, up to what amount would you continue holding?

Higher financial knowledge scores correlate with higher 'investment grip strength.'

Individuals who answered all basic financial knowledge questions correctly (high financial knowledge score) showed the highest rate (36.8%) of responding 'continue holding even with losses exceeding ¥400,000.' Combined with those who would hold through ¥300,000 in losses (16.8%), over half maintained their holdings. In contrast, those who did not answer all questions correctly had the highest response at '¥100,000 in losses' (31.1%), and combined with '¥10,000 in losses' (9.9%), totaled 41.0%, which is 17.9 percentage points higher than the 23.1% of full correct-answer respondents who chose '¥100,000' or '¥10,000' in losses.

Higher financial attitude scores correlate with higher 'investment grip strength.'

Individuals who make financial decisions based on a long-term perspective rather than short-term market fluctuations (high financial attitude score) showed a relatively higher tendency to continue holding despite losses. Those with a long-term perspective responded 'continue holding even with losses exceeding ¥400,000' at 32.9%, compared to 27.9% for those without a long-term perspective—a 5.0 percentage point difference.

Higher financial behavior scores correlate with higher 'investment grip strength.'

Similarly, differences in 'investment grip strength' were observed based on the ability to make rational judgments using financial knowledge. Those with rational judgment responded 'continue holding even with losses exceeding ¥400,000' at 34.3%, compared to 26.0% for those without rational judgment—a difference of 8.3 percentage points—indicating that individuals capable of rational judgment tend to have higher 'investment grip strength.'

Individuals with impulsive tendencies tend to have lower 'investment grip strength.'

Individuals who can think rationally about the distant future but tend to react impulsively to immediate events (≈ a certain impulsivity) were found to have lower 'investment grip strength.' While minor losses (around ¥100,000) showed no significant difference due to impulsivity, those with impulsive tendencies began to struggle with losses starting at the ¥200,000 threshold. The combined rate for '¥200,000' and '¥300,000' losses was 41.7% for impulsive individuals versus 38.6% for non-impulsive individuals—a 3.1 percentage point gap.

[Conclusion] Higher levels of financial knowledge, attitude, and behavior are associated with greater 'investment grip strength,' making it easier to continue long-term asset building even during price declines.

For detailed information and survey results, please visit Rakuten Securities' website.

'Behavioral Finance Research Report 2026 Edition'

https://www.rakuten-sec.co.jp/web/learn/report/2026/

Rakuten Securities will continue to publish insights from this survey and accumulate large-scale longitudinal data on individuals, aiming to widely disseminate findings to both industry and academia. This includes academic contributions, raising awareness of the importance of financial education, and proposing improvements to financial system designs, all in support of maximizing Financial Well-being—helping a broad range of Japanese individuals reduce financial anxieties and live more freely and authentically.

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