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Michael Mauboussin: “We’re bias to believe that what we have done is sufficient to solve the problem”

The IC interviews the people that matter to your money
July 13, 2020

Few financial experts speak with such authority about psychology in investing as Michael Mauboussin. He’s written the book on behavioural finance – literally, many times.

Mr Mauboussin is a highly respected Wall Street strategist and has taught finance at Columbia Business School since 1993. Today he is head of research at Morgan Stanley’s fundamental equity team, Counterpoint Global.

In this interview, he and Algy Hall pick through the main discussion points of his latest research paper – ‘BIN there, done that’, which analyses the sources of mistakes people make when forecasting. To read more about the paper, which is based on research from a prestigious team including the author of influential book ‘Super-forecasting’, Philip Tetlock, look out for our Further Reading article this week.

 

Click on the links below to understand more about some of the topics discussed

Ideas Farm: Profit from predictable mistakes

"Broker forecasts are wonderful things; not because they are right, but because they are often so wrong," says Algy Hall.

Four investment mistakes to avoid during market volatility

We like to believe that we are rational and make decisions based on facts. But it can be difficult not to let emotions govern your investment decisions – especially when you feel anxious during sell-offs. Mary McDougall's article can help you avoid bad decisions.

 

Tame your brain

Keep a look out for this week's cover feature, where Algy Hall applies the knowledge gained from Michael Mauboussin - and other behavioural finance experts - to help identify and overcome the five most common investor mistakes.