Let’s face it; investors often make bad investment decisions. Commonly, this is due to our emotions getting in the way. BlackRock lists some of the emotional investment tendencies that often cloud our judgment and steer us toward poor decisions:
- Anchoring: Holding onto a reference point, even if it’s irrelevant. For example, a $1.5 million house, being presented on its own, might sound expensive. But if you were first shown a $2 million house, and afterwards shown the $1.5 million house, it might then sound like a good deal.
- Herding: Following the crowd. People often pile into the markets when they are doing well and they see “everyone else” doing it.
- Mental Accounting: Separating money into buckets that are treated differently. Earmarking funds for college savings or a vacation home allows you to save for specific goals. But treating those dollars differently may not make sense when they all have the same buying power.
- Framing: Making a different decision based on context. In a research study, when a four-ounce glass had 2 ounces of water poured out of it, 69% of people said it was now “half empty.” If the same glass starts out empty and has 2 ounces of water poured into it, 88% of people say it is “half full.”
Emotional investment tendencies can result in all sorts of problems. Typically these behaviors are so ingrained that we don’t even recognize them as irrational!
One way to combat our emotions is to hire a good advisor. As explained in this previous blog post, one important benefit—maybe even the primary benefit—of having a good advisor is behavior modification. An advisor persuading a client to invest more when the market is doing poorly, instead taking money out, is extremely valuable.
Another option is to invest in a managed product like an ETF or mutual fund (here are some of ours) that will make the decisions for you. For an emotional investor, this may be an easier (and presumably safer) option than picking and obsessively monitoring a few random stocks. Even then, it is important try to avoid the herd mentality. Data shows that it’s most important to avoid panic at market bottoms. Although it is difficult not to panic if other people around you are fearful, the potential difference in your investment return can be significant.
In short, understanding your emotional tendencies may help keep them from interfering in investment decisions. If that isn’t enough, try enlisting the help of an outside source. With the steady hand of a good advisor, it may be possible to mitigate emotional investment tendencies.
