Discuss how behavioural factors shape the decisions of an investment team and propose ways to limit their influence

Teams can compound individual biases. Groupthink and conformity suppress dissent, especially when a senior member speaks first; overconfidence and the illusion of control encourage concentrated bets; confirmation bias filters evidence toward existing views; anchoring ties forecasts to earlier numbers; loss aversion and the disposition effect delay selling losers; and herding pulls the team toward consensus positions. Mitigation relies on structure: collect written views independently before discussion, rotate a devil's advocate, let junior members speak first, use checklists and explicit sell disciplines, run pre-mortems on major decisions, and keep a decision journal reviewed against outcomes. Diversity of background and clear accountability help. When selecting a manager, look for evidence that such safeguards operate in practice, not just on paper.