Your Everyday Guide to Behavioural Finance

Since the start of the 20th century, India’s GDP has been growing at an average of 6-7 per cent and the World Bank predicts India to become one of the fastest growing major economies in the world.

The lack of social security benefits for the common citizen coupled with favourable factors like structural reforms, young population, high rates of savings and consumption, and waves of digitalisation and financialisation are driving both domestic and global investors to the Indian capital market in pursuit of higher risk-adjusted return.

But with the increasing globalisation and rising volatility, the common investors often fall prey to their personal biases (fear, greed, overconfidence, loss aversion, etc.). This behaviour is at variance with traditional finance which holds that the investors are rational and markets are efficient. The overload of investment tips flowing from television, print, social media, conferences, and investment gurus further adds to investor confusion.

Prakash Praharaj and Nirakar Pradhan, two well-known investment advisors, have come together to document their decades-long learnings and practical experience into a very useful, comprehensive volume. Your Everyday Guide to Behavioural Finance sheds light on the theory of behavioural finance and nineteen dominant behavioural biases in an accessible and easy-to-understand manner. It offers a framework for identifying, assessing, and managing one’s own behavioural traits (biases) to enhance investment success.

The book also recommends Behaviourally Modified Asset Allocation (BMAA), a tool to synchronise the investment portfolio with the life cycle of the investors. So, whether you are a financial advisor, portfolio manager, or an individual investor yourself, Your Everyday Guide to Behavioural Finance will provide you with an integrated perspective to craft efficient and effective investment strategies irrespective of external market noises.