FIN 460 Applied Behavioral Finance (Dr. Harris)

'The Adaptive Markets Hypothesis' (AMH) presents a formal and systematic exposition of a new narrative about financial markets that reconciles rational investor behaviour with periods of temporary financial insanity. In this narrative, intelligent but fallible investors learn from and adapt to randomly shifting environments. Financial markets may not always be efficient, but they are highly competitive, innovative, and adaptive, varying in their degree of efficiency as investor populations and the financial landscape change over time. Andrew Lo and Ruixun Zhang develop the mathematical foundations of the AMH - a simple yet surprisingly powerful set of evolutionary models of behaviour - and then apply these foundations to show how the most fundamental economic behaviours that we take for granted can arise solely through natural selection.

'Behavioural Technical Analysis' is an accessible introductory guide to how human nature impacts the markets and those who trade in them. At its core, trading is a decision-making process based on the analysis of data and a judgement on risk and uncertainty. When humans make trading decisions their emotions, physiology and the natural qualities of the brain automatically and subconsciously play a role. Therefore, to better understand the financial markets we need to better understand the behaviour of individual investors within those markets. Behavioural finance - the study of how human sentiment and emotion affects financial decision-making - is a means for achieving this better understanding and it is already revolutionising investment and trading. In particular, it is becoming clear that behavioural finance can help evaluate various aspects of technical analysis - and this is the unique focus of 'Behavioural Technical Analysis'. This book provides an introduction to the six main areas of behavioural finance: dealing with complexity; how humans perceive what is around them; sense of self; aversion to risk; the impact of society and crowds; and gender. An overview is given in each case and for each key concept details are provided about how it can affect the work of technical analysts. The author then builds on these early chapters by applying the concepts of behavioural finance to three key technical analysis techniques: study of extremes, study of trends, and support and resistance. It is shown how behavioural finance can help illuminate long observed technical price patterns and thus serve as a foundation for profitable investment and trading strategies. This book does not presuppose any knowledge of behavioural finance or psychology, skills in mathematics or detailed trading techniques, but instead provides an outline of the key features of behavioural finance that are relevant to technical analysis and advances a new and exciting way of thinking about trading. 'Behavioural Technical Analysis' is a lucid and practical read for all those who want to understand what happens when human nature and financial markets collide - and, most importantly, how to profit from it.

Discover how to remove behavioral bias from your investment decisions For many financial professionals and individual investors, behavioral bias is the largest single factor behind poor investment decisions. The same instincts that our brains employ to keep us alive all too often work against us in the world of finance and investments. Investing Psychology + Website explores several different types of behavioral bias, which pulls back the curtain on any illusions you have about yourself and your investing abilities. This practical investment guide explains that conventional financial wisdom is often nothing more than myth, and provides a detailed roadmap for overcoming behavioral bias. Offers an overview of how our brain perceives realities of the financial world at large and how human nature impacts even our most basic financial decisions Explores several different types of behavioral bias, which pulls back the curtain on any illusions you have about yourself and your investing abilities Provides real-world advice, including: Don't compete with institutions, always track your results, and don't trade when you're emotional, tired, or hungry Investing Psychology is a unique book that shows readers how to dig deeper and persistently question everything in the financial world around them, including the incorrect investment decisions that human nature all too often compels us to make.

In this fascinating tour through cultural, global, economic, and business history, icon of the financial world Robert Menschel explores the phenomenon of crowd psychology and its effects on business and culture. Explaining how crowd psychology creates market bubbles and irrational exuberance, Menschel mines world history-from the rise of the Nazis in Germany, to the fanatical love of brands, to the Dutch tulip craze of the seventeenth century, to America's 1990s Internet bubble-to reveal how the behavior of crowds negatively affects the business world. Championing the causes of individuality and common sense, Markets, Mobs & Mayhem offers real wisdom for investors who want to keep their wits when everyone else is losing theirs.