Mind, Money & Markets

After losing much of his money when the South Sea Bubble burst in 1720, English physicist and mathematician Isaac Newton stated, “I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.” Even though Isaac Newton was a brilliant man, he did not realize that markets function in a way that is opposite to almost everything else we do. For example, if people are lining up around the block to purchase an iPad, it is a sign that it is a good product. If people are lining up around the block to buy a condominium, it is a bad sign for real estate. Markets do not always act in a rational or logical manner. Mind, Money & Markets explains why they act the way they do. It is critical for every person to understand this in order to make wise decisions ranging from buying a home to operating a business. Expert advice is much less reliable than we expect it to be because no one can accurately predict the future on a consistent basis. Gigantic losses like the $6.2 billion trading loss at JP Morgan in 2012 show that investors are not giving momentum (following the trend) the respect it deserves. Mind, Money & Markets offers a momentum filter—specifically, a screening tool from which every individual and professional investor should benefit. The book also provides a “circuit breaker” that enables investors to limit losses in case of an unexpected event in financial markets. Using powerful and poignant analogies from their life experiences, including Dave Harder’s twelve years as a Search and Rescue volunteer, we provide readers with a simple discipline to preserve precious hard-earned capital during severe downturns and to outperform benchmarks when markets are in an uptrend. It is easier to know what to do than to actually do it. Psychiatrist Dr. Janice Dorn specializes in helping traders and investors deal with emotions and aspects of human nature that hinder them from making astute investment decisions for stocks, bonds, real estate, currencies, or commodities. We have passed on many words of wisdom collected from market sages and great thinkers. We also highlight some major misconceptions about investing, and show the reader how to overcome them and prosper. With a compelling mixture of fascinating stories and more than 100 colored charts and photographs, this is truly a unique work about how human beings react to markets. The book helps individual as well as professional investors to be efficient with their time and energy by teaching them to focus only on a few factors which have the most significant impact on financial markets. The personalized strategies provided in these pages will enable readers to maximize gains, minimize losses, and have more time to spend on things that matter the most in their lives.