The preferences in capital allocation among economics students in Poland. Investments on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and forex in comparison to a poker game

Aim/purpose – The paper examines the level of investment activity among the last semester master’s degree students of economics fields, including investment in stocks and in forex (FX) in comparison to a poker game. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents the exploration of similarities and differences of stock trading, forex trading and poker playing (a critical analysis of the literature), and questionnaire research among 613 students of the last semester of studies at the University of Economics in Katowice. Findings – A decreasing level of a participation of individuals in financial markets refers to different financial segments like capital markets and trading on, e.g. the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) or the foreign exchange market (forex, FX). The current market situation does not constitute favourable conditions to increase commitment of individual investors on the WSE. In addition, other form of investment among young people is being observed, e.g. poker. The results of the research stress the role of an effective financial education and its influence on a changing the attitudes towards investments. Research implications/limitations – The research sample is limited to the students of one university. Originality/value/contribution – So far, there has not been conducted any research among potential important participants of financial markets which takes into account the listed alternatives: investments on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and in forex, or a poker game.