Why Ego — Not the Market — Could Be Your Biggest Investing Risk
Overcome the biggest obstacle to better investing to increase your wealth.
A business associate suggested to an investor friend to check out Prof of Wall Street behavioral analytics to improve his investment performance by identifying actionable opportunities.
His buddy replied, “Behavioral analytics are nonsense. I don’t need anyone telling me what I’m doing wrong.”
Fair enough. I didn’t try to convince him. I understand. I used to think the same way.
Sharing our investing data exposes us to potential criticism, and most people dislike feeling vulnerable. This is true for those who have had bosses, colleagues, parents, or partners who use it as a weapon instead of a genuine approach to help them improve and feel more confident.
Many investors fear feedback because it taps into their insecurity and sense of not knowing what to do, despite their best efforts.
If you view feedback negatively, you’ll miss the positive aspect: opportunity for improvement.
Overcoming Limiting Behaviors with Feedback
If you’re making a correctable mistake that could lead to a significant benefit, wouldn’t you want to know?
The separator between successful and unsuccessful investors isn’t IQ, wealth, or experience. It’s the willingness to get feedback, adjust, and compound improvements over time.
Look at elite athletes: Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, and LeBron James. They weren’t just talented; they were obsessively coachable . They sought feedback relentlessly, even after becoming legends.
Being the best or improving requires hard work, humility, and openness to new thinking. If your golf swing looked like a toddler with a broom, wouldn’t you want someone to tell you?
I surfed in LA for six years and barely improved — just like my early investing mistakes that inspired behavioral-fintech innovation. Too proud to ask for help, I kept paddling harder instead of using better strategies.
One hour with a surf coach in the Caribbean changed everything. He pointed out my blind spots in paddling, positioning, posture, and made me start over on small “whitewash” waves. It was humbling, but within hours I was catching more waves, having more fun, and feeling more in control.
As a professor and researcher, I’ve always sought feedback on code efficiency and teaching. Sometimes it backfired, as people mistook curiosity for ignorance, but that never discouraged me.
Why? You now have the opportunity to improve with powerful new tools for investors, and the willingness to improve is a personal “edge” in life.
How Behavioral Finance Will Help
One thing academia overlooks is that this research isn’t just about investors — it’s about us. We can see our biases in the data and recognize how they shape our decisions.
That realization motivated building Prof of Wall Street. The goal was to turn Nobel Prize–winning behavioral insights into practical tools that help investors make better decisions — particularly when it’s hardest.
Today, at Prof of Wall Street, we’ve analyzed billions in real investor transactions in portfolios from under $10K to over $100M to identify performance drivers and growth areas (“upside analysis”) and helped people make better investment decisions.
Data from billions of dollars of analysis show a clear result: behavioral biases reduce performance. Even small improvements in decision-making can lead to significant differences in long-term returns.
But those who grow financially and personally are willing to reflect, seek feedback, and improve.
The rest stay stuck in the whitewash, never catching the green waves of investing success. 🌊
If you’re ready to understand what’s really driving your investment performance — the good, the bad, and the fixable — reach out. Let’s explore how behavioral analytics can help you invest smarter and grow richer.
https://www.profofwallstreet.com/contact-us
The separator between successful and unsuccessful investors isn’t IQ or experience — it’s the willingness to get feedback and adapt.
