Asset diversification, financial well-being, quality of life, and mental health: a study in Brazil

ABSTRACT This study sought to investigate the relationship between diversification, financial well-being (FWB), quality of life (QoL), and mental health, and to see how FWB mediates this relationship, considering a sample of 1,047 Brazilian investors registered with the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (Comissão de Valores Mobiliários [CVM]). In the national and international literature, no studies were found that sought to identify the mediating role of FWB between diversification, QoL, and mental health, as proposed in this study. This research may help brokers and financial institutions, allowing a new look at the profile of investors and their portfolios. It also widens the perspectives on studies of personal finance and mental health in Brazil and around the world. Mediation was conducted through structural equation modeling estimated by robust diagonally weighted least squares (RDWLS). ‘Asset classes’ was adopted as a proxy for diversification. For QoL, the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-100) scale was adopted, while the Beck inventories were used to measure mental health (depression and anxiety). For FWB, the measure of the Brazilian Credit Protection Service (Serviço de Proteção ao Crédito [SPC Brasil]) was used. The results showed a strong relationship between the FWB mediation between the diversification degree (asset classes) and the QoL and mental health scales (anxiety and depression). It was found that the diversification level is related to increased levels of anxiety and depression and decreased QoL in the short term, but when mediated by FWB, it decreases the anxiety and depression levels and increases QoL.