With each ebb and flow, Mr. Market entices investors with the “quick and the new,” leading them to believe that this time is very different, and that we’ve never seen the likes of this before. His pattern of tricks changes slightly each time, but usually only enough to mine the one constant: investor behavior. Why doesn’t investor behavior change? We like to think it would, especially when you look at all the lessons of past markets. Short-term thinking, however, is human nature—it’s in our DNA. It’s how we are wired. We tend to process decisions relatively quickly based on what we see in front of us at the moment, or on what we believe others may be seeing. Such irrational behavior is ages old and is based on primal instincts like fear—we are afraid of either getting hurt or missing out. Many years later, this behavioralism was recognized as a key feature of value investing.....................
Related link: Charles Brandes' Q4 2014 Commentary