Investment Strategy and Avoiding Emotional Interference
Plan Ahead to Overcome Emotional Reactions that Can Skew Prudent Investment Strategy
By Kathy Longo, CFP®, CAP®, CDFAWednesday, 06 October 2021
I write a lot about the interconnectedness of money and emotions, and I also talk about it frequently on my Flourish Financially podcast. That’s because we humans are emotional creatures, and our feelings can have a tremendous impact on our behavior. Of course, that includes financial decision-making, which permeates many aspects of our lives. When it comes to investing, in particular, the natural highs and lows of the stock market can have emotional effects. If we’re not careful, these emotions can inhibit our ability to make sound financial judgments. In fact, many poor investment decisions have been made by investors who became too emotional and let their behavioral biases overrun their rational thoughts.
For this reason, it’s crucial to understand how emotion can interfere with your investment success. We all go through life with various ups and downs and hiccups along the way. This can cause fear and uncertainty – both fertile fields for emotional financial decision-making.
Below we will discuss three emotional biases that can wreak havoc on your investment strategy – if you let them.
