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The extant literature has provided a lot of evidence that supports positive associations between participation in activities and health. However, the health effects of high or low risk financial activities (FAs) are presently ambiguous, especially across age groups. With a sample of 313 subjects in Taiwan, this study examines whether participation in high or low risk FAs (savings, stocks, mutual funds, and real estate) benefits self-rated health (SRH) in middle-aged and older adults. We find that (1) savings rates are consistently high for both middle-aged and older cohorts. However, middle-aged adult participation rate in FAs, in terms of stocks, mutual funds and real estate, is higher than that for older adults. (2) High risk FAs, especially stock investments, have a positive effect on SRH in middle-aged adults.

Disruptive neo-broker applications (NBAs) enable users to access financial markets easily and have attracted millions of investors worldwide. As a gamified implementation for financial services, NBAs provide a unique research setting in which to examine the determinants of NBA acceptance among investors, some of whom are wholly inexperienced in financial products. We propose a research model specifically designed to explain the usage intention of NBAs by drawing on established factors from technology acceptance and financial behavior research. We validated the research model empirically with structural equation modeling (N = 653) and found significant drivers of NBA acceptance. Distinct from previous finance technologies, we confirmed consumption-oriented factors, including performance expectancy, hedonic motivation, price value, and habit as antecedents of NBA usage intention. From the financial perspective, initial trust and overconfidence were identified as further drivers, while overconfidence in turn is shaped by risk aversion and subjective financial knowledge, indicating a mediated effect on NBA acceptance. Thereby, we present the first NBA-tailored acceptance model that links technology characteristics and financial behavior. Correspondingly, we provide implications for theory and practice.

What drives rural people to use financial services and products is a critical step in the journey towards financial inclusions. The financial service providers and policymakers have engaged with this challenge by seeking insights into the socio, economic, demographic and cultural factors that prompt people to be aware and learn about financial services and products, try them out, and use them over time. The determinants of financial literacy focus more sharply on the socio-economic demographic factors, and have used ordinary least square, multiple regression model. This model determines how various independent variables namely age, gender, income, religion, social groups, family size, marital status, educational level, occupation, etc. significantly influence financial literacy of the respondents.