This Is Your Brain on Stocks

This Is Your Brain on Stocks

Your brain weighs 3 pounds, is 100,000 years old, and acts as a “dynamic, opportunistic, self-organizing system of systems.” It contains 200 billion neurons, has a larger cerebral cortex than most mammals (with 125 trillion synapses!), and a very highly developed visual system.

It also is the source of almost all of your investing errors.

This is Your Brain on Stocks tells the story of how and why that is. A fun exploration of Behavioral Economics — the study of the financial decisions we make — and Neurofinance — what goes on in our brain whilst making those decisions.

Those who study the cognitive shortcomings of investors often reach an inescapable conclusion: You just are not wired to make intelligent financial decisions.

Exactly how does your brain interfere with your investing? We discuss these 12 common errors that amateurs and pros alike tend to make.

  1. Herding, Groupthink
  2. Expert Fallacy
  3. Optimism Bias
  4. Confirmation Bias
  5. Recency Effect
  6. How Emotions Impact Perception
  7. Anticipation vs. Rewards
  8. Selective Perception & Retention
  9. A Species of Dopamine Addicts
  10. Ownership’s Endowment Effect of
  11. The Narrative Fallacy
  12. How Cognitive Errors Impact Processes

The presentation is filled with short examples, some of which can make audiences gasp in self-recognition. It is a fun and fact filled survey of the latest knowledge in the field.

These two articles describe the presentation as well.

An investor’s worst enemy? Their brain

A bull-and-bear naturalist

For more information on booking Barry as a speaker, please see Presentation & Conference info.

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