A bit volatile out there recently, isn’t it? How do you feel? Calm or nervous? I choose to tell myself to stay calm and use the opportunity to refresh my memory on what I should do in order to be successful in…
After the recent days of heightened market volatility I was curious to check out how the S&P 500 component stocks have faired over the last 12 months: Hmm, looks to me as if the bull market is mainly hinged on those…
Before you read on, take a minute and think about this question for a while. Look back at your recent transactions. How did you arrive at those decisions? Are you happy with your past decisions? Any regrets? C’mon. If you’ve…
This trip is for the stock traders among you. What kind of annual return are you aiming for? 30% or 20% or 10%? What’s your number? Humans, and especially those of the male persuasion, have a bias called The Lake…
The desire to feel like we’re in control seems to be a very basic human need. Are you in control? Do you like to control your environment? Well? Were you successful in that endeavour? C’mon, be honest. Because—Control—is an illusion! Let me give you an example…
My brain is flawed. It is a flawed lens through which I see reality. This is true of both mouse brains and human brains. But a human brain is a flawed lens that can understand its own flaws—its systematic errors,…
Oops, did you click this post by accident? Or did you conscientiously click it because you do consider yourself a “serious investor” – I mean – serious investor (no irony intended)? I do apologize if my header created any sense…
The other day I was reminiscing about two epiphanies that influenced my choices in life. So back in those days I wanted to be independent. And I figured the best means to independence is money. Not for the sake of…
This bias might be at the root of all the other biases that very active traders “enjoy”. Yet, being right has very little to do with making money! The evidence is overwhelming that the more we trade, the worse we would do. That’s because most…
We have the tendency to overestimate the degree to which others agree with us; therein making this—tendency—just another of those predictable patterns of thought and behavior that lead us to draw incorrect conclusions. Psychologists call this the False Consensus Bias. Let me ask you: “Is agreeing…