Behavioural Finance

Many books about behavioural finance relate to relatively naive, individual investors. But professional investors are different. They have usually built their expertise on years of study and experience. And their decisions often result from following thorough and detailed investment processes. This book is about the aspects of behavioural finance that are specifically relevant for investment professionals.

The book combines psychological research with real world examples and a discussion of 62 practical applications. The first section discusses the psychological issues and strategies related to determining what is most important in each investment decision, in the face of noise and information overload. It explores how to ensure that financial forecasts are robust, while adequately accounting for easily overlooked statistical processes like mean reversion. This first section also discusses strategies for knowing when to sell, while mitigating the risks of confirmation bias and loss aversion. And it covers how to calibrate one's confidence, in order to determine an appropriate position size.

The second and third sections are about how investment professionals work together, and how they understand and communicate with others. These sections discuss how they can most effectively give and receive feedback within their team, how they can communicate clearly with their clients, and how they can get the most out of their meetings with corporate CEOs. Other chapters cover how best to integrate qualitative and quantitative approaches, how to use decision-making analytics and training, and how best to leverage a team's diverse skills. These final chapters are likely to be most relevant for more senior investment professionals, including those with leadership and mentoring responsibilities, and those who are involved in designing investment processes.