“We can’t say, ‘If you weren’t acting so emotionally, you would be able to make better financial decisions,’” she told attendees at the Investments and Wealth Forum in Toronto on Monday. “Everything we do, including financial decisions, requires emotions as an impetus. So we can’t ignore what’s going on in this deep region of our brain.”
This makes the role of an advisor — someone who can provide an objective, third-party perspective — that much more important. Similar to advisors managing a client’s risk, they may need to manage their emotions, Kramer said.
One example of emotions governing investment decisions is the correlations between seasonal affective disorder, investor behaviour and market performance — a phenomenon Kramer and her colleagues have studied for more than 20 years.
Kramer highlighted that traditionally, September and October are poorer-performing months for the market. The S&P 500 has seen a September decline of 7% or more 11 times going back to 1928, according to MarketWatch. While Octobers have performed better than Septembers, significant market crashes, like in 2008, 1987 and 1929, have occurred in October.
Both months are when days begin to shorten in the northern hemisphere, which can dampen moods among the general population. “We all just feel a little more despondent,” Kramer said. “The more depressed a person is, the more averse they are to risk, including financial risk.”
Kramer said her research has found that the riskiest categories of U.S. mutual funds tend to see large outflows during the fall and winter, when many investors experience increased risk aversion.
Conversely, she has found there tend to be large flows into the safest categories during these times.
Advisors who know about this tendency can educate their clients and help them avoid it.
“If investors act according to their emotions, if they sell risky assets in the fall and buy them back in the spring, they’re going to end up worse off. They’re leaving a lot of money on the table,” she said. “[You] don’t want people making investment decisions that is responsive to strong emotional urges.”
John Nersesian, head of advisor education with PIMCO, said during another session at the forum that advisors can help manage clients’ emotions by presenting them with historical data and evidence about how tumultuous markets in the past occurred and how investors who stayed invested rode the recovery wave.
Advisors should also show empathy to their clients, he said. As an example, advisors should consider revisiting the common phrase “stay the course.”
While advisors mean clients should remain invested and take a long-term approach, clients may interpret the phrase differently, Nersesian said.
After hearing the phrase, they may think: “I’m telling my advisor I’m in real pain right now. My portfolio is getting killed. Everything I’m reading suggests this may continue. My advisor doesn’t hear me; my advisor is hearing me, but they don’t care; [or] my advisor doesn’t have anything better to offer me.”
Nersesian suggested that instead of telling clients to “stay the course,” advisors can reiterate and clarify their clients’ concerns, tell the client they will examine potential options and reconnect with them in a week to discuss the best action plan.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.
The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was little changed in late-morning trading as the financial sector fell, but energy and base metal stocks moved higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.05 of a point at 24,224.95.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 94.31 points at 42,417.69. The S&P 500 index was down 10.91 points at 5,781.13, while the Nasdaq composite was down 29.59 points at 18,262.03.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.71 cents US compared with 73.05 cents US on Wednesday.
The November crude oil contract was up US$1.69 at US$74.93 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was up a penny at US$2.67 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$14.70 at US$2,640.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up two cents at US$4.42 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.
