PBESProceedings of Business and Economic Studies2209-26412209-265XBio-Byword Scientific Publishing Pty. Ltd.10.18063/PBES.v9i8.15141ArticleChinese Retail Investors’ Asset Allocation amid Regime Shifts in Gold–A-Share Correlationhttps://artdesignp.com/journal/PBES/9/8/10.18063/PBES.v9i8.15141ZhongXinyue2026982026-08-31By 2026, the relationship between gold prices and A-share indices in China’s domestic market had shifted from a traditional negative correlation to a sustained positive correlation, indicating structural deterioration in gold’s safe-haven attributes and a transition toward a new steady-state of asset correlation. Despite this market transformation, retail investors largely adhered to conventional investment paradigms, frequently exhibiting irrational allocation behaviors. Grounded in behavioral finance, dynamic correlation theory, and modern portfolio theory, this study combines literature review, theoretical analysis, questionnaire surveys, and statistical testing methods to examine 313 A-share retail investors, investigating their asset allocation patterns, behavioral biases, and influencing factors under the new correlation dynamics. The findings reveal that investors actively adjust their equity allocations during such transitional periods, yet their decisions remain markedly impulsive and irrational; behavioral biases including risk perception distortions, mental accounting effects, experience anchoring, and herd behavior are significantly amplified, undermining rational asset allocation; extreme market fluctuations diminish the influence of individual characteristics such as risk appetite, age, income, and investment duration. These findings provide empirical evidence for understanding retail investor behavior under regime shifts and offer practical implications for investor education and capital market risk management.Gold–stock market correlation, Correlation regime shift, Retail investors, Asset allocation, Behavioral bias

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