From the Back Cover
Inside the Investor's Brain
The human brain is wired to make decisions in certain ways. Unfortunately, when it comes to the financial markets, the way we've been "wired" is not conducive to making money. Nobody knows this better than author Richard Peterson. As a founder of Market Psychology Consulting, a former trader, a developer of psychology-based trading systems, and an investor coach, Peterson understands firsthand how subconscious mistakes (biases) can sabotage the financial decision-making of market participants.
Now, with Inside the Investor's Brain, Peterson wants to share his invaluable experiences in this field with you. Backed by recent research in neurofinance--the study and application of neuroscience to investment activity--psychology, and experimental finance, this detailed guide explains the fundamental "hardwired" mistakes made by most investors and reveals the simple steps you can take to overcome these obstacles and improve your financial decision-making skills.
After an introduction that illustrates some of the most basic and prevalent investor biases--through the well-documented stories of Long Term Capital Management, Sir Isaac Newton and the South Seas bubble, and Mark Twain and the 1860s silver fever--Inside the Investor's Brain moves on to:
- Part One: The Intersection of Mind and Money describes basic brain function and how it is unsuited to modern financial market dynamics
- Part Two: Feelings and Finance explains emotional states, their chemical basis, how they alter our financial judgments, and optimal investor personality characteristics
- Part Three: Thinking about Money examines the common thought-traps of investment analysis. Here, misperceptions in the evaluation of financial opportunity and risk are discussed
- Part Four: In Practice offers advice for managing your mind in the financial markets and suggestions on the use of psychology-based investment strategies
Most chapters also contain engaging real-world examples, whose lessons will help you identify subconscious biases; understand when thinking will improve your investment process (and when it won't); improve your emotional intelligence; and focus on the decision process, not the outcome.
While good investing requires a basic financial education, in order to really excel in this environment, you've got to learn how to manage yourself. With Inside the Investor's Brain as your guide, you'll quickly discover how becoming familiar with both the terrain of the markets and the topography of your mind can enhance the profitability of your overall investment endeavors.
RICHARD L. PETERSON, MD, is a Managing Partner of Market Psychology Consulting, an Associate Editor at the Journal of Behavioral Finance, a psychiatrist, and a former trader. He has written for a number of publications, including the Journal of Psychology and Financial Markets, and was a contributor to the book Risk Management: A Modern Perspective. Peterson holds seminars around the world for investment professionals and has two active Web sites: www.marketpsych.com and www.richard.peterson.net. He received his medical and bachelor's degrees from the University of Texas, completed his psychiatry training in the San Francisco Bay Area, and performed postgraduate neuroeconomics research at Stanford University.
