This study investigates how financial literacy and behavioural biases influence investment decision-making among academicians, with an emphasis on the personal, social, and institutional factors shaping their investment behaviour. Primary data were collected from 430 academicians using a structured sampling design. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was employed to identify the latent dimensions underlying investment decisions. The suitability of the dataset for factor analysis was confirmed by a Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) value of 0.724 and a significant Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity (χ² = 1242.428, p < 0.001). Principal Component Analysis extracted key factors influencing investment behaviour, namely financial stress and debt-related pressures, socio-economic and institutional influences, financial knowledge and information processing, and structural and policy support for financial education. The results indicate that academicians’ investment choices are substantially shaped by financial pressures, limited financial knowledge, social and environmental influences, and inadequate access to structured financial education. These constraints often result in risk-averse or inefficient investment decisions. The study underscores the need for targeted financial literacy interventions, improved access to reliable financial information, supportive institutional policies, and the incorporation of investment education into professional development programmes. By providing empirical evidence on the multidimensional determinants of investment behaviour within the academic community, this research contributes to the literature on financial decision-making and offers practical implications for policy and institutional reform.