The efficient markets hypothesis has been the central proposition in finance for nearly thirty years. It states that securities prices in financial markets must equal fundamental values, either because all investors are rational or because arbitrage eliminates pricing anomalies. This book describes an alternative approach to the study of financial markets: behavioral finance. This approach starts with an observation that the assumptions of investor rationality and perfect arbitrage are overwhelmingly contradicted by both psychological and institutional evidence. In actual financial markets, less than fully rational investors trade against arbitrageurs whose resources are limited by risk aversion, short horizons, and agency problems. The book presents and empirically evaluates models of such inefficient markets. Behavioral finance models both explain the available financial data better than does the efficient markets hypothesis and generate new empirical predictions. These models can account for such anomalies as the superior performance of value stocks, the closed end fund puzzle, the high returns on stocks included in market indices, the persistence of stock price bubbles, and even the collapse of several well-known hedge funds in 1998. By summarizing and expanding the research in behavioral finance, the book builds a new theoretical and empirical foundation for the economic analysis of real-world markets.

An in-depth look into the various aspects of behavioral finance Behavioral finance applies systematic analysis to ideas that have long floated around the world of trading and investing. Yet it is important to realize that we are still at a very early stage of research into this discipline and have much to learn. That is why Edwin Burton has written Behavioral Finance: Understanding the Social, Cognitive, and Economic Debates. Engaging and informative, this timely guide contains valuable insights into various issues surrounding behavioral finance. Topics addressed include noise trader theory and models, research into psychological behavior pioneered by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, and serial correlation patterns in stock price data. Along the way, Burton shares his own views on behavioral finance in order to shed some much-needed light on the subject. Discusses the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) and its history, and presents the background of the emergence of behavioral finance Examines Shleifer's model of noise trading and explores other literature on the topic of noise trading Covers issues associated with anomalies and details serial correlation from the perspective of experts such as DeBondt and Thaler A companion Website contains supplementary material that allows you to learn in a hands-on fashion long after closing the book In order to achieve better investment results, we must first overcome our behavioral finance biases. This book will put you in a better position to do so.

A concrete guide that links the theory of behavioral finance with applications in financial products Behavioral finance is a rapidly expanding field, with major implications for the way in which the investment process is conducted. Behavioural Finance links the concepts of behavioral finance to measurable variables and smarter investment decision making. Comprehensive coverage relating theory to practical investment analysis provides a usable, practical guide for real-world situations.

Achieve investing success by understanding your behavior type This groundbreaking book shows how to invest wisely by managing your behavior, and not just your money. Step by step, Michael Pompian (a leading authority in the practical application of Behavioral Finance concepts to wealth management) helps you plan a strategy targeted to your personality. The book includes a test for determining your investment type and offers strategies you can put into use when investing. It also includes a brief history of the stock market, and easy-to-comprehend information about stocks and investing to help you lay a solid foundation for your investment decisions. Behavioral Finance and Investor Types is divided into two parts. Test Your Type, gives an overview of Behavioral Finance as well as the elements that come into play when figuring out BIT, like active or passive traits, risk tolerance, and biases. The book includes a quiz to help you discover what category you are in. Plan and Act, contains the traits common to your type; an analysis of the biases associated with your type; and strategies and solutions that compliment and capitalize on your BIT. Offers a practical guide to an investing strategy that fits both your financial situation and your personality type Includes a test for determining your tolerance for risk and other traits that will determine your investment type Written by the Director of the Private Wealth Practice for Hammond Associates—an investment consulting firm serving institutional and private wealth clients Behavioral Finance and Investor Types offers investors a better sense of what drives them and what puts on their breaks. By using the information found here, you'll quickly become savvy about the world of investing because you'll come to understand your place in it.

Behavioral finance presented in this book is the second-generation of behavioral finance. The first generation, starting in the early 1980s, largely accepted standard finance’s notion of people’s wants as “rational” wants—restricted to the utilitarian benefits of high returns and low risk. That first generation commonly described people as “irrational”—succumbing to cognitive and emotional errors and misled on their way to their rational wants. The second generation describes people as normal. It begins by acknowledging the full range of people’s normal wants and their benefits—utilitarian, expressive, and emotional—distinguishes normal wants from errors, and offers guidance on using shortcuts and avoiding errors on the way to satisfying normal wants. People’s normal wants include financial security, nurturing children and families, gaining high social status, and staying true to values. People’s normal wants, even more than their cognitive and emotional shortcuts and errors, underlie answers to important questions of finance, including saving and spending, portfolio construction, asset pricing, and market efficiency.

Behavioural investing seeks to bridge the gap between psychology and investing. All too many investors are unaware of the mental pitfalls that await them. Even once we are aware of our biases, we must recognise that knowledge does not equal behaviour. The solution lies is designing and adopting an investment process that is at least partially robust to behavioural decision-making errors. Behavioural Investing: A Practitioner’s Guide to Applying Behavioural Finance explores the biases we face, the way in which they show up in the investment process, and urges readers to adopt an empirically based sceptical approach to investing. This book is unique in combining insights from the field of applied psychology with a through understanding of the investment problem. The content is practitioner focused throughout and will be essential reading for any investment professional looking to improve their investing behaviour to maximise returns. Key features include: The only book to cover the applications of behavioural finance An executive summary for every chapter with key points highlighted at the chapter start Information on the key behavioural biases of professional investors, including The seven sins of fund management, Investment myth busting, and The Tao of investing Practical examples showing how using a psychologically inspired model can improve on standard, common practice valuation tools Written by an internationally renowned expert in the field of behavioural finance

A definitive guide to the growing field of behavioral finance This reliable resource provides a comprehensive view of behavioral finance and its psychological foundations, as well as its applications to finance. Comprising contributed chapters written by distinguished authors from some of the most influential firms and universities in the world, Behavioral Finance provides a synthesis of the most essential elements of this discipline, including psychological concepts and behavioral biases, the behavioral aspects of asset pricing, asset allocation, and market prices, as well as investor behavior, corporate managerial behavior, and social influences. Uses a structured approach to put behavioral finance in perspective Relies on recent research findings to provide guidance through the maze of theories and concepts Discusses the impact of sub-optimal financial decisions on the efficiency of capital markets, personal wealth, and the performance of corporations Behavioral finance has quickly become part of mainstream finance. If you need to gain a better understanding of this topic, look no further than this book.