What Investors Really Want: Know What Drives Investor Behavior and Make Smarter Financial Decisions

by Meir Statman

  A pioneer in the field of behavioral finance presents an investment guide based on what  really drives investors  Perfectly timed to give readers a real edge for investing in post-crash markets Author is a leading authority on the theory and application of behavioral finance and a fixture in  The Wall Street Journal and other leading media outlets Poised to become the definitive text on how investors and managers make financial decisions—and how these decisions are reflected in financial markets

Genres: Finance, Nonfiction, Business

305 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 16, 2010

About the author

Meir Statman is the Glenn Klimek Professor of Finance at the Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University and Visiting Professor at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. His research focuses on behavioral finance. He attempts to understand how investors and managers make financial decisions and how these decisions are reflected in financial markets.

The questions he addresses include: What are the cognitive errors and emotions that influence investors? What are investor aspirations? How can financial advisers and plan sponsors help investors? What is the nature of risk and regret? How do investors form portfolios? How successful are tactical asset allocation and strategic asset allocation? What determines stock returns? What are the effects of sentiment? How successful are socially responsible investors?

Meir’s research has been published in the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial Economics, the Review of Financial Studies, the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, the Financial Analysts Journal, the Journal of Portfolio Management, and many other journals. The research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Research Foundation of the CFA Institute, and the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA). Meir is a member of the Editorial Board of the Financial Analysts Journal, the Advisory Board of the Journal of Portfolio Management, the Journal of Wealth Management and the Journal of Investment Consulting, an Associate Editor of the Journal of Financial Research, the Journal of Behavioral Finance, and the Journal of Investment Management and a recipient of a Batterymarch Fellowship, a William F. Sharpe Best Paper Award, a Bernstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy Outstanding Article Award, a Davis Ethics Award, a Moskowitz Prize for best paper on socially responsible investing, two Baker IMCA Awards, and three Graham and Dodd Scroll Awards. Meir consults with many investment companies and presents his work to academics and professionals in many forums in the U.S. and abroad.

Meir received his Ph.D. from Columbia University and his B.A. and M.B.A. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Reviews

[周 大為]

作者在這本書中分析投資者的內心世界，有時候我們投資不只是為了賺錢，更是為了想要炫耀、怕錯過，或是想證明自己，或純粹是想要自我感覺良好。這些都是正常的，但是如果沒有拿捏好，則可能會讓不理性的情緒影響我們的實際投資績效。

比如我們很想要打敗大盤來證明自己，但結果可能適得其反。

也可能純粹因為怕錯過而追高點。

另外心理帳戶也是日常常見的心理作用，比如我們覺得股市賺來的錢可以好好享受，而工作賺來的薪水則應該謹慎使用。但實際上錢就是錢，它是一樣的，本身沒有我們給它貼上的標籤。

這本書的前半部，適合有作投資的朋友，反思一下自己投資的心境，是否好高騖遠，或是急於表現，或是過於風險趨避，或是總愛發後見之明並懊悔？這些都是常見的心理誤區。當然，這些都是正常的，因為我們是人，但是，自我洞悉這些心態，有助於在長期投資路上走得更遠更好。

這本書後半段的普用性比較小，依個人需求可參酌。

總之，任何想了解「為什麼我的投資決策總是出問題」的人。無論是個人投資人、財務顧問，還是對人性心理好奇的讀者，這本書都能提供既有學術深度、又貼近生活的洞見。行為財務學不是告訴你「別這樣做」，而是幫助你真正理解自己，進而做出更好的決策。

正所謂知己知彼，百戰百勝。了解自己的投資心態，是投資人勝負的關鍵。

中文書摘: https://philog8sophia.blogspot.com/20...

[J Roberts]

I’m going to go middle of the road on this review for several reasons. First off, I am a licensed advisor with a CFP while working or a CRPC. I got this book hoping it would help me with my clients more. It is not that sort of book, so advisors should skip this one. This book is more for those who want to take investing into their own hands. While I see the allure of doing so, I just deal with too many people who’ve attempted to take investing on without help. Most of them will eventually get to their goals, but they will have to work much longer for results that will be inferior to what they could have achieved if they had chosen to work with an advisor.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I can see why people would want to take it on alone. Some people simply don’t trust others on such an important issue. Others enjoy the process and see it as a hobby. I can relate to these. I like to work on old cars on the side. I don’t often trust work to someone I barely know, and I enjoy the work I put into my cars. Still, I know when to call in an expert. This book can give you some of the basics you’ll need to do the work on your own. Most importantly, I think the book can help novices investor understand enough of the investment discussion so that they will not be cheated by unscrupulous advisors.

[Jon]

Fantastic book on behavioral economics. Mr. Statman knows his field and it shows in the wealth of supporting literature he cites in his bountiful footnotes. If you are looking for investment advice, forget it. You will not find it in this book.
You will however find in this book, the reason why we invest and what we expect to get out of our investments. You will get a framework for understanding why you do not want to invest in coal companies but want to invest in windmill farms.

Mr. Statman's fundamental framework is where the book really shines. It is a summary of his articles describing the 3 reason why anyone buys anything:
1.Utility (What value do I get from this product or service?)
2.Expressive ( What does this object or service say about me)
3.Emotional (How does this product or service make me feel?)

This framework alone is worth 5 stars. Now add in all the other good stuff. You get a pretty good ROI on this book ;)

[JP]

The title led me to expect to know the secrets about what needs are most important to investors. Instead, this book is an overview about the various ways that investors want to have it all. Chapters are organized around broad topics like "having emotions" and not wanting to pay taxes. Within these topics, the author delivers a balanced, thorough treatment. I especially appreciated the reliance on both modern and historical (early 1900s) data points. If not incisive, this book is useful in the span and depth of coverage.

[Ron II]

Statman does a good job explaining the pyschological barriers to successful investing. He shows us the irrationality of our decision making and why we are, many times, our own worst enemy. This book won't tell you what stocks, ETFs, or mutual funds to buy - but it might help you to have the right mental framework for investment success.

[bookreader]

An impressively erudite parade of facts from a dean of behavioral finance, but the relentless barrage of information (one sentence has seven footnotes!), presented with little regard for readability, is tedious & ultimately tiresome.

[Natalie Joan]

Good book, but a very dense read. Will take time and/or patience. Full review here: http://beforeyouinvest.ca/2011/01/boo...

[Anthony]

A few interesting ideas from behavioral econ. But repetitive and poorly written. Much better behavior economics/investing books are out there