Making the investment decision using the goal programming method “An applied study on the insurance companies listed on the Damascus Stock Exchange”

Abstract

The study aimed to determine the share of insurance companies listed on the Damascus Stock Exchange that should be invested in and its quantity, using goal programming, which is a quantitative method that can solve the administrative problem with multiple goals, whether they are compatible or conflicting, in a mathematical manner.We designed the mathematical model

and applied it to the data published in 2022 for all six insurance companies listed on the Damascus Stock Exchange. The results were that the shares that should be purchased, given the priority for the goal of maximizing returns, were the shares of the two companies, Al-Motaheda and Al-Kuwait, at a rate of 46.57% and 53.43%, respectively, and the shares that should be purchased, given the priority for the goal of reducing the level of risk, were the shares of the two companies, Al-Dawlia and Al-Motaheda, at a rate of 93.47%, 6.53%, respectively. That is, there is a difference between the investor’s decision to buy the stock that gives the greatest return only and the decision resulting from solving the model applied using goal programming, given that the investor gives priority to the goal of maximizing the return.There is also a difference between the investor's decision to buy a stock whose level of risk is only low and the decision resulting from solving the model applied using goal programming, given that the investor gives priority to the goal of reducing risk. Hence, we suggest using the multi-objective programming method when making the investment decision in the Damascus Stock Exchange.