empty
29.09.2021 07:10 AM
MIT conducts study to find out which investors more likely to panic and sell stocks

We are used to thinking that our decision is influenced only by facts and some pieces of crucial information. Taking them into account, we are more likely to make the correct decision. Is it really so?

This image is no longer relevant

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have conducted a study on the demographics of people that feverishly sell stocks during a market crash.

As it turns out, investors who are male over the age of 45, married, or consider themselves as having "excellent investment experience" are more likely to freak out and dump their portfolios during a downturn. These are the conclusions of the research published last month. Overall, researchers have analyzed more than 600,000 brokerage accounts.

In the study, the researchers defined a panic sale as a drop of 90% of a household account's equity assets within one month. Notably, 50% or more is related to trades.

"Financial advisors have long advised their clients to stay calm and weather any passing financial storm in their portfolios. Despite this, a percentage of investors tend to freak out and sell off a large portion of their risky assets," Daniel Elkind, Kathryn Kaminski, Andrew Lo, and colleagues wrote.

The latest and previous studies have shown that people are better off keeping a broadly diversified portfolio. Nevertheless, the prospects of wealth and the fear of losing it lead to hectic trading patterns.

"Panic sales are not random events." The researchers said that they could identify clear trends in the data. They found out that specific types of investors, e.g. those with less than $20,000 in their portfolio, are also willing to liquidate more often.

"Subtle patterns in portfolio history, past market movements, and demographic profile can be exploited by deep neural networks to accurately predict if an investor will panic sell in the near future," they pointed out.

Extreme emotional swings of an investor in the stock market have long fascinated behavioral scientists.

At the same time, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology did not study why exactly investors are panic-selling. Any trader has at least once experienced such feelings as a strong fear and desire to give up and leave the market at critical moments. In any case, it makes sense to study the Diamond Hand strategy and apply it depending on the situation. It is better to come up with a good strategy amid quickly changing trading conditions, namely the tightening of monetary policy and rising energy prices. Some analysts warn that this winter, many sectors may face certain pressure. Some signs of the coming storm can be seen in China.

The researchers assume their work can be used to develop predictive models, which may help identify individuals at risk of panic selling.

Yet, it would be wise to rely on objective data and various types of information. As for psychology, panic occurs when there is a lack of external information. Knowledge of the laws of the market will help calm down at a critical moment and keep assets in the portfolio.

Notably, when the panic has started, it is usually too late to sell. Therefore, if traders miss this moment, it is better to look through your traders and wait for the moment when the panic subsides. At least if you manage your portfolio correctly, some of the assets will always keep the balance. Some of the new ones can be purchased at the peak of the sell-off.

The research shows that the market is not a place for easily panicking people. The ability to control oneself and think soberly in the most stressful situation is the most important skill that determines market leaders.

Egor Danilov,
Experto analítico de InstaForex
© 2007-2025
Seleccione el marco de tiempo
5
min
15
min
30
min
1
hora
4
horas
1
día
1
s.
Gana con los cambios en el valor de las criptomonedas con InstaForex.
Descarga MetaTrader 4 y abre tu primera operación.
  • Grand Choice
    Contest by
    InstaForex
    InstaForex always strives to help you
    fulfill your biggest dreams.
    UNIRSE AL CONCURSO

Recommended Stories

El dólar sin futuro: la venta masiva apenas comienza

Hasta hace poco, el dólar parecía intocable: el ancla mundial, el refugio monetario, la última palabra en confianza global. Pero hoy cada vez se escucha más otra retórica: sobrevaloración, agotamiento

Аlena Ivannitskaya 08:22 2025-05-20 UTC+2

Bitcoin: qué esperar esta semana. ¿Se mantendrá el récord con la subida hasta los $107 000?

A la primera criptomoneda le toca mantener sus posiciones, aunque a veces le resulta difícil. En este momento, el BTC ha salido adelante, por lo que la tarea de conservar

Larisa Kolesnikova 14:34 2025-05-19 UTC+2

El consumidor estadounidense pierde impulso: lo que dicen Target y Lowe's

En la próxima semana, Wall Street centrará su atención en los informes de las principales cadenas minoristas de EE. UU., que ayudarán a evaluar cómo afectan a la economía

12:39 2025-05-19 UTC+2

STOXX 600 alcanza nuevas cimas: ¿hacia dónde se dirige el crecimiento y qué les espera a los inversores?

Cisco sube tras la mejora de previsiones para el ejercicio fiscal UnitedHealth cae por un informe que menciona una investigación penal El índice europeo STOXX 600 apunta a su quinta

12:47 2025-05-16 UTC+2

Trump contra el dólar: por qué a la Casa Blanca le conviene una moneda débil

Algo extraño le está ocurriendo al dólar: se debilita, pero nadie lo reconoce oficialmente como una debilidad. El Departamento del Tesoro repite su mantra sobre una "moneda fuerte", Trump guarda

Аlena Ivannitskaya 13:23 2025-05-15 UTC+2

El Bitcoin y altcoins al alza, gracias a los datos de inflación y la tregua temporal entre EE. UU. y China

El miércoles 14 de mayo de 2025, el mercado de criptomonedas respiró aliviado tras la publicación de unos datos de inflación más moderados en EE. UU. de lo que esperaban

Natalia Andreeva 13:33 2025-05-14 UTC+2

NRG Energy despega tras un acuerdo de $12 mil millones — ¿nuevos actores en el sector energético?

Índices al alza: Dow +2,81%, S&P 500 +3,26%, Nasdaq +4,35%, Las acciones superan a los activos refugio por distensión comercial Apple sube ante posibles aumentos de precios en iPhone Índice

12:10 2025-05-13 UTC+2

El Bitcoin en picado: primero conquista la cima, luego retrocede. Beneficio del acuerdo entre China y EE.UU.

El lunes 12 de mayo, el precio del Bitcoin superó los $104 000, alcanzando un pico de $105 000. Sin embargo, posteriormente la primera criptomoneda experimentó una caída. Además

Larisa Kolesnikova 11:09 2025-05-13 UTC+2

El oro está de capa caída: ¡sus precios han bajado! Contraataque del dólar y retirada del euro

A comienzos de esta semana, el metal amarillo cedió parte de sus posiciones, reaccionando al contexto geopolítico. Aun así, la demanda de oro se mantiene moderadamente alta, lo que permite

Larisa Kolesnikova 09:05 2025-05-12 UTC+2

Trump promete acuerdos ya esta semana: ¿en qué se traducirá esto para el dólar?

Durante el fin de semana, Trump insinuó posibles acuerdos comerciales ya esta semana. Como de costumbre, no hubo detalles concretos, pero las consecuencias no se hicieron esperar. El lunes

Аlena Ivannitskaya 08:28 2025-05-05 UTC+2
¿No puede hablar ahora mismo?
Ingrese su pregunta en el chat.
Widget callback
 

Dear visitor,

Your IP address shows that you are currently located in the USA. If you are a resident of the United States, you are prohibited from using the services of InstaFintech Group including online trading, online transfers, deposit/withdrawal of funds, etc.

If you think you are seeing this message by mistake and your location is not the US, kindly proceed to the website. Otherwise, you must leave the website in order to comply with government restrictions.

Why does your IP address show your location as the USA?

  • - you are using a VPN provided by a hosting company based in the United States;
  • - your IP does not have proper WHOIS records;
  • - an error occurred in the WHOIS geolocation database.

Please confirm whether you are a US resident or not by clicking the relevant button below. If you choose the wrong option, being a US resident, you will not be able to open an account with InstaForex anyway.

We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by this message.