Investment, overconfidence and the female edge

A piece in Les Affaires looks at how our emotions and confidence can get the better of us when it comes to our investment practises, citing the panic in 2008 as proof that the markets are ruled more by investor emotion than by rationality.

The piece goes on to note the interesting difference between male and female portfolio managers, quoting Desautels Dean Isabelle Bajeux-Besnainou that “researchers have found that women take less risk, or at least do it more rationally,” with the result that the women outperform their male counterparts.

The difference seems to be that female managers do not usually show the same overconfidence, and, therefore, do fewer costly transactions.

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