1. Anchoring bias
Anchoring bias is a cognitive shortcut that we experience daily, and not just in investments. Imagine that you want to buy a new pair of shoes: after some research online, you find out that this particular model retails at an average of $200. When you go to the mall, you see a store selling the shoe at $120 and you accept the offer because why not? It’s much cheaper than what I found online! However, after walking round the mall, you realised that another store is selling the exact same shoe at only $60! You’ve found yourself a victim of the anchoring bias: favouring the pre-existing piece of information that we have and making hasty, seemingly illogical decisions. In the case of these shoes, the $80 discount seemed like a great deal when compared against the ‘base price’ of $200, making us neglect the possibility of another store carrying it at an even cheaper price.
Similarly, when we invest, the anchoring biases can cause us to buy an overvalued asset. Sometimes, we may also end up holding onto investments that have lost their value. Typically, investors show anchoring biases when they fixate on the price at which they’ve bought a stock and expect future performance to exactly replicate past performance. Alternatively, past experiences of losses could also bias investors towards permanent pessimism for certain investments, ignoring any logical arguments.
To become a savvy investor, make decisions that target this bias: always apply the appropriate investing framework and system to form your investment thesis and decisions. Do not make a decision based on a single piece of past evidence and ignore present analyses.