A year ago today, I was (among) the happiest person (people) in the world. Who wouldn't be, after completing the final level of a gruelling professional qualification, and knowing that there was a chance you'd finished with it for good?

Anyway, one of my favourite topics of the CFA programme was behavioural finance, a topic which only came up in Level III. It's also one of the more annoying theories, because, to any mathematician or logician, it's not much good having a theory explaining the potential mistakes investors and fund managers make if there's no way of coming up with an equation or applicable solution which can prevent the mistakes from happening. That being said, I still enjoy reading about it, having had the privilege to stumble across James Montier's writings a year or so ago, and having listened to Richard Thaler's speech at the annual CFA Institute conference in Orlando earlier this year.

For those who weren't so fortunate - or academically inclined - there's an article in today's Wall Street Journal explaining this in layman's terms. It's a good read on what any investor should look out for and is especially pertinent during these turbulent tmes.