In all modesty, I moderated one of the best sessions in Davos so far at lunchtime today. Nothing to do with me. The speaker, Princeton psychology professor Daniel Kahneman, was speaking about the latest findings in behavioural finance. That’s the emerging study of non-rational and imperfect behaviour in markets.
I’ll throw out some of Kahneman’s insights. It’s apparently well established now that the cost of “having an idea” (something that motivates you to buy or sell) is 3.5%. In other words, it doesn’t pay — on average — to have ideas.
I also thought his findings on people’s attitudes towards risk. According to Kahneman, “People take risks because they don’t know the risks they are taking.”
What made it such a successful session was the passion, humour and range of a true expert, and a steady stream of interesting, deep questions from a knowledgeable group of participants.