Most investors who fail to reach their goals do so because they fall into identifiable and often predictable mental pitfalls along the way. They already exist in our psyches, and they do their damage before we are aware of their presence. Every investor has weaknesses and vulnerabilities. These make up the darker side of our investor identity. And though some are more at risk than others, these investor traps are universal human tendencies to which every investor is susceptible. Forging a more effective investor identity involves not only recognizing these traps, but also realizing your personal susceptibilities to them and developing the ability to sidestep them along the way to your goals. This chapter describes the most common and insidious investor traps. You will learn to identify and minimize the impact of these common mental mistakes.
