Herd behaviour

Herd behaviour is driven by emotional rather than rational behaviour. Often little attention is paid to investment fundamentals as investors focus on what other people are reacting to in the market.

All investors are prone to behaviours and emotions that can lead to poor investment decisions. One of the most common pitfalls is known as ‘herd behaviour’. This describes large numbers of individuals acting in the same way at the same time, typically by buying into rising markets and selling out of falling markets. This behaviour can cause markets to dramatically rise and fall in value – known as ‘bubbles’.

Bubbles can only be identified with hindsight, after a rapid and marked drop in value has occurred. These sudden drops are sometimes referred to as ‘crashes’ or ‘bubble bursts’. Because bubbles are only identified in retrospect, many investors often get caught out by the sudden and rapid decline in the value of their investment.

Herd behaviour is driven by emotional rather than rational behaviour. These emotions are typically optimism and greed when markets are rising, and fear and panic when markets are falling. Little attention is paid to the investment fundamentals, which means herd behaviour rarely leads to successful investment outcomes.

There are two main drivers of herd behaviour when it comes to investing. Firstly, people don’t want to miss out on making a profit. Secondly, we assume that when a large number of people are buying into the same investment, they can’t all be wrong. This means that there is often little understanding of the underlying investment, and more attention is focused on what other people are doing. Consequently, it is often the less experienced investor who gets caught up in herd behaviour.

Bubble indicators – what to watch out for

  • Strong, sustained rallies and stretched valuations
  • Hearing ‘this time it’s different’
  • A flurry of initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions
  • Investor greed and a fear of missing out
  • Everything moving together, regardless of quality
  • Media headlines talking up the latest investment trend

Case study

It’s October 1999 and Ken has been keeping an eye on the sharemarket. Everyone is talking about the exciting future of technology companies and he has noticed most of them have doubled in value during the past 12 months. He doesn’t know much about investing or technology companies, but assumes all the other investors know something that he doesn’t. Without really understanding why the stocks are rising, he invests $10,000 in a technology-based index fund, reassured that many other investors are doing the same. Four months later he is delighted that the value of his investment has risen more than 50%. All those people were right after all.

Then, in February 2000, his investment starts losing value and Ken can’t see any reason behind the fall. All of a sudden everyone is rushing to sell their technology stocks and no one is buying any; the exact opposite of just a few weeks earlier. The drop in value is so abrupt that by the time Ken reacts and sells his holdings he has lost most of his original investment.

Like many others who had jumped on the ‘dot.com’ bandwagon, Ken did not do his research and invested without fully understanding the sector or risks. He thought to himself “this time it’s different”. Looking back he acknowledges that the signs of a bubble were there for all to see.

One way to avoid such a pitfall is to invest in a well diversified investment portfolio with a disciplined investment process which is designed to meet long-term investment goals, rather than be concerned with following the latest trend.

Exhibit 1: Value of $10,000 invested in the technology-based NASDAQ stock market (three years to 31 August 2001)

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Source: Bloomberg. Chart is used for illustrative purposes only.

While it’s tempting to follow the latest investment trend, it is imperative to always fully understand an investment before making an investment decision.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about herd behaviour.

“Be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy” – Warren Buffet


Cashed Up

When cash is king, choose the best option for you.

Hoarding your dollars under the mattress probably won’t have much appeal for many of us. But is it possible you may be doing the modern day equivalent with your current cash investments.

The reason the mattress isn’t such an attractive idea is that, apart from the obvious security issues, the value of your stash falls over time. You earn no interest and there’s no capital growth.

There could be a similar result if you don’t think through the options available for cash investments. It may mean lost opportunities and fail to maximise the returns from your most liquid assets.

Which account?
While the everyday bank account will always score highly as a convenient place to park your cash, it comes at a price.

A better option for your cash reserves could be a high-interest savings account. Here, your cash can be earning more than a typical transaction account.

A slightly higher rate of interest again can be earned in a term deposit. In return for agreeing to tie up your cash for a set period of time, usually between a month and five years, you’ll earn more. The longer the period, the higher the interest. Term deposit accounts often require a minimum amount of around $1,000 to $5,000.

You’ll need to be certain that you won’t need the money for the fixed term because withdrawing funds early can attract penalties. Also, don’t forget to keep track of when the term expires so that you can plan what to do next. Unwittingly allowing the term deposit to rollover into another term might not be best for your circumstances at the time.

Of course, there are many other ways to hold cash investments, such as managed funds that either focus purely on cash investments, or include a large holding of cash investments as part of their portfolio.

What suits you?
Another way to take advantage of the security and performance of cash and fixed interest is to change the asset allocation in your superannuation or pension fund.

You can manipulate your investments inside your fund to create a portfolio that suits the market conditions and your own goals.