Recognise the behavioural biases that affect asset allocation and propose ways to counter them
The idea
Loss aversion leads investors to hold too little risky exposure or to refuse to realise losses; goals-based framing that secures essential needs first can help. Illusion of control encourages concentrated active bets; the global market portfolio as a baseline counters it. Mental accounting treats each pot of money separately and ignores correlations across accounts; goals-based methods can use it constructively while checking the total. Recency bias extrapolates recent returns and drives procyclical changes; a formal rebalancing policy helps. Framing bias makes choices depend on how options are presented; show outcomes in several forms, such as returns and loss probabilities. Availability bias favours familiar or memorable assets, producing home bias; a broad, rules-based opportunity set counters it.
In the app: 1 practice questions on this outcome, a narrated walkthrough with diagrams, spaced review that brings it back before you forget it.
Take the free diagnostic →More in Asset Allocation with Real-World Constraints
- Explain how portfolio size, cash flow needs, horizon, and regulatory and other limits constrain asset allocation
- Explain how taxes shape both the choice of asset allocation and the approach to rebalancing
- Propose and defend changes to an asset allocation after a shift in the investor's objectives or constraints
- Explain the role of temporary deviations from the strategic asset allocation