Bridging Bias and Literacy: Enhancing Millennial Investment Decisions through Digital Financial Education in Emerging Economies

Abstract

The study tests a structural equation model linking digital financial education, financial literacy, behavioural bias and investment decision quality. A structured questionnaire was administered to 108 millennial investors who had used one digital financial platform. Constructs were measured through five-point Likert scales adapted from financial literacy, investor education and behavioural finance literature. Although digital finance has widened access, many young investors still rely on herding, overconfidence, anchoring and fear-of-missing-out cues when selecting assets. The analysis was designed in AMOS using confirmatory factor analysis, reliability and validity checks, model-fit assessment, structural path estimation and bootstrapped mediation testing. Results indicate that digital financial education strongly improves financial literacy, financial literacy weakens behavioural bias, and reduced bias improves investment decision quality. The structural model also shows a direct positive pathway from digital financial education to decision quality, suggesting that interactive learning, risk warnings and goal-based portfolio tools can influence choices beyond knowledge acquisition. The findings support the argument that literacy interventions must be digitally embedded, bias-aware and context-sensitive for emerging markets under volatile information. The article recommends modular app-based education, nudges against herd behaviour, regulator-platform collaboration and continuous investor analytics. Bridging bias and literacy can make millennial market participation more informed, resilient and inclusive in fast-growing, app-mediated securities markets across economies. This revision examines the influence of digital financial education on millennial investment decisions in emerging economies, focusing on the role of cognitive biases and financial literacy. Using a quantitative approach, data were collected from 108 respondents through a structured Likert-scale questionnaire. The study employs a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) framework to analyze relationships among digital financial literacy, investment bias, financial confidence, behavioral intention, and investment decision quality. Findings indicate that higher digital financial literacy significantly reduces behavioral biases and enhances investment decision quality. The study highlights the importance of integrating digital financial education into policy frameworks to improve rational investment behavior.