For your weekend reading and courtesy of this week's U.S. News Invested, here is a very quick read that sums up all the pitfalls to avoid in making bad investment decisions.


11-13-19 7 Financial Behavior Biases That Influence Investment Returns | Investing 101 | US News

Invested Advice, rankings and stock market news for investors. Nov. 14, 2019

TODAY'S BIG IDEA 7 Behaviors That Influence Investment Returns Investors think they’re sensible, good investors and independent thinkers. But studies show that investors behave irrationally. An OppenheimerFunds report claims that the major threat to the rate of return on investment is emotion and money lost to fear and greed. Discover how to earn high investment returns by sidestepping these return-harming behavioral biases. 1. Herding behavior. Investors who learn about their friends making a killing on bitcoin may follow the herd into this risky scheme. The remedy for herding is to understand an investment's properties and valuation before clicking the buy button. 2. Overconfidence. Overconfident investors inaccurately attribute their positive investment picks to skill and their negative outcomes to bad luck. They believe that their exceptional skill in market timing and stock selection will lead to consistent exceptional performance, but typically underperform the markets over the long term. – Barbara Friedberg Click here to continue. Recommended reading on this topic: 6 Risky Investment Fads to Avoid 12 Reasons Investing is Easier Than You Think 10 Long-Term Investing Strategies That Work 7 Great Blogs for Investing Tips