The Psychological Stages of the Japanese Crisis

Federal tsunami warning radios bleeped on at 1:40am Pacific time along the West coast of the USA last Friday morning.  The voice coming over the radiowaves reported an earthquake off Japan and gave a tsunami estimated arrival time in Santa Barbara at 8:24am and in Santa Monica at 8:39am.  This was the direct result of the largest earthquake to ever hit Japan, and the fourth largest to strike the earth in recorded history, now listed as a 9.0 on the Richter scale.

That morning TV viewers could see video coverage of a 30 foot wave washing over coastal villages in Japan, to such an extent that entire towns were lifted and crushed by the wall of water.

Given that Japan is the third largest economy in the world, you might think that U.S. traders and investors would rush to sell shares, buy puts, hedge, and reposition.

Nope,  by the close of trading on Friday, the DJIA was up 60 points.

It wasn't until Monday, and again today, that investors realized the full extent of the risks that had emerged.  "What took them so long," is a fair question to ask.  In this post I explain the psychological stages which drive financial markets after catastrophic events such as natural disasters and terrorist attacks.

Stage 1:  Underreaction.  In this stage people don't realize the scope of the disaster.  They believe the stock rally will go on as is, and they believe the government assessment of the situation.
Psychological Driver:  Cognitive Dissonance.  We have trouble processing new information that is out of our comfort zone.  We need time to reconcile it with our established habits and beliefs.

Stage 2:  Reaction.  We realize that all is not good, and we take action.  The Nikkei drops 14% in one day.  The S&P 500 sheds its 2011 gains.  This is occurring early this week.  Fund managers sell the stocks of companies that are likely to be hit, and buy shares of those likely to benefit.
Psychological Driver:  Rational reappraisal.  We incorporate the new facts, and revalue securities accordingly.

Stage 3:  Overreaction.  This is where is gets interesting.  Uncertainty and fear color our assessment of the facts, and we believe we get more information from the market price action (plummeting) than from a rational appraisal of wind currents.  Stocks sell off, Potassium Iodide (KI) sells out off store shelves in California.  People sell their stocks just because others are doing so and prices are dropping, they don't want to be the last ones holding the bag.  This is the "risk-off" trade, where indiscriminate risk selling occurs.  This is occurring today.
Psychological Driver: Fear, uncertainty, and loss of a trusted authority.  Radiation cannot be seen, is widely feared, and may spread beyond Japan.  Perhaps most worrisome to investors, there is no longer a trusted authority who knows the truth - the Japanese goverment appears to either not understand the situation or to be trying to prevent panic by hiding the true impact of events.  All of these factors lead to overreaction - usually occurring about 4-5 days after a crisis, and culminate in panic, when real investment bargains are to be found.

If you're waiting to buy Japanese construction and insurance stocks, consider stepping in.

And most importantly, our sincere condolences to all whose family, friends, or lives have been affected by this terrible crisis.

Richard L. Peterson M.D.
310.573.8523

MarketPsych Honored as a Top Book for 2010

MarketPsych is proud to report that in Kiplinger's Personal Finance December issue, MarketPsych: How to Manage Fear and Build Your Investor Identity was honored as one of the Top 3 finance books for 2010.

Top 3. And # 1 of its kind.

We're right next to Michael Lewis's latest work. So if books had elbows, our's would be rubbing with those of some pretty darn good company.

And though we can't promise that MarketPsych will be made into a major motion picture anytme soon (mainly because of Rich's bizarrely rigid insistence that he be played by George Clooney) - we can promise that if you read the book and engage in the exercises therein, you will a better, smarter investor.

In fact, we don't consider it a book, as much as a (highly entertaining) psychological tool kit that builds the skill you need for long term wealth accumulation.

It's available here.

Enjoy. And happy investing.

-Dr. Frank

MarketPsych Presents: Market Beer Goggles, Part I

College, 1992: A Flashback

It happened late at night. It always happens late at night. The keg was kicked and the host was reduced to breaking out a bottle of Peach Schnapps that had been in the back of the liquor cabinet since the Nixon Administration. What. A. Party. You danced a little. Drank a lot. And you spent the last hour on the couch canoodling with this really hot girl (or guy as the case may be). You asked your model-esque romantic interest if he/she wanted to find some place a little more private...

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Yep. It was a pretty cool night. That was until you got the party photos back. Looking at them now, you see that something is strangely, terribly amiss.

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"That's definitely me on the couch", you think, "I have the matching Guinness stain on my Polo shirt to prove it. But who in the name of Extreme Makeovers is that decidely un-hot person sitting next to me?!" And, follow up question, "What did I do? (gulp) Please tell me it's not what I think it is!"

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Beer Goggles: noun, A metaphorical set of "eye-glasses" worn after excessive alcohol consumption that makes otherwise unattractive individuals extremely desirable.

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Back in college, it was known as Beer Goggling. And for most of us college is where it stayed. We all get older, and generally that means wiser. We learn to make better choices, to channel our impulses. As we mature our lifestyles change, we settle down. But while we don't break out "The Goggles" at parties anymore, we sometimes break them out in "The Market".

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How does it happen? What is this intoxicating mixture that distorts our judgment, lowers our standards, and causes us to hook up a dreadful, "oh-my-gosh-I-did-what" stock. It's a pretty simple recipe:

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Market Love Potion #9

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Mix:

2 Parts Media Hype

2 Parts Greed

2 Parts Impulse Control

1 Part Peer Pressure

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Shake well. Serve over crushed ice. Garnish with lemon peel.

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Welcome to MarketPsych's new semi-regular feature, Beer Goggle Stocks! Where we use hindsight, and the harsh, wince-inducing light of day to illuminate those times we became intoxicated by a stock or sector and made a regrettable choice that could have been avoided if only we were thinking clearly.

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We will highlight a number of these investments. Analysis will include a "before" and "after" picture, a break down of the emotional/cognitive/social factors that led to misjudgment and an outline for how to avoid such mistakes in the future.

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Like the old T-shirt, "Friends Don't Let Friends Beer Goggle".

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And at MarketPsych we like to think of ourself as your investing friend. The responsible one who takes your car keys, orders you a cup of black coffee and walks you around the block when you're not thinking straight. So if you've ever hooked up with a hot stock only to later to see it was a dog... stayed tuned for part II.
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Coming Soon: Market Beer Goggle Part II - Ethanol, I Promise I'll Love You in the Morning.

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In the meantime, happy investing.

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-Dr. Frank Murtha

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MarketPsych is the premier Investing Psychology Consulting Firm. We have been doing talks, keynotes, workshops, training, coaching, consulting in Investing Psychology since 2002. Our clients include individuals and institutions in all areas of the financial community. Contact us at [email protected] for more information on how we can help you.

How To Scare the Pants off an Investor

Fear may drive the markets. But when it comes to scaring investors, most people are amateurs.

Take all these doom and gloomers you see on TV. I bet they think they're reeeeeeally scary. With their "GDP numbers" and their "recession forecasts".

"Well, Sue, it's pretty bad out there. In fact, we've upped the likelihood of recession from 45% to 52% by Q2." (Pause for reaction).

Is that supposed to scare me? To you, I say, "Ha, would-be fearmonger! You've got nothing! I've seen Barbra Streisand movies that are scarier than that!"

(Actually, I find all Barbra Streisand movies utterly terrifying... perhaps that's a bad example)

You know why their analysis isn't scary? Because it's not emotion... it's math. I mean, you're not even engaging the right part of the human brain! (Dr. Peterson's opus is the definitive source on that subject).

"Uh, wait. There's a 52% chance of recession... but only a 76% chance of that. And that's only if LIBOR drops under 4%... Hold on, let me get my calculator." I mean, honestly.

Math is only scary when you're in 5th grade and are asked to go up to the blackboard and do long division problems in front of the class (and you know Mrs. Schecter picked you because she caught you passing notes to your buddy, Rob earlier in the day).

You want to know how to really scare the pants off investor? You want to really know how to get the stampede started?

First off, ditch the math. The odds of experiencing a loss don't scare people; it's the amount of that loss that scares people. This is the first crucial step toward sewing fear. Ever seen that show, Deal or No Deal? (e.g., I know my odds, but I could lose a guaranteed $300,000). It illustrates the difference beautifully.

And it's not just the degree of loss. Even that's still numbers, and number is the language of math. It's how those numbers will impact the quality of the investors' lives that generates the fear.

Investors have to imagine what they will feel like when the loss changes their lives. That's what turns their stomachs.

Also, fear is personal. You want to scare investors? You gotta make it personal.

You pictured sending your beloved son to an Ivy League School. You pictured walking across the quad and soaking in the beauty of the gorgeous Georgian style buildings and 300 year old Elm trees. How proud you would feel. Nothing but the best for your son! But...

There's no way you can afford that now. Your vision and his dream have been crushed. Instead, imagine the sense of shame and longing when you pull up to that shabby dorm at the state school with it's ugly utilitarian architecture. The best companies barely even recruit there. He'll never get the opportunities there you envisioned for him.

(MARKETPSYCH LEGAL COUNSEL DISCLAIMER): State schools provide excellent educational experiences. The quality of education is often superior to that of private colleges. In fact, Marketpsych founders have attended public schools, proudly. Moreover, many state schools have lovely campuses. They are not necessarily ugly or utilitarian, with the exception of the State University of New York at Buffalo's Amherst Campus which was apparently outsourced to the Soviet Ministry of Architecture in 1971.)

Not scary enough yet? Fine. You know that 0ctogenarian who was behind the counter at that chain book store? Remember the twinge of pathos you felt? Well guess what? You're going to be that guy because you can never afford to retire. Every morning you will put on your uniform, get the bus to the mall and spend all day on your aching feet squinting at book prices because your eye sight "isn't what it used to be". At lunch you will get a half an hour to eat the bologna sandwich you made that morning. You will be doing this the rest of your life.

I think we're getting warmer.

Lastly, add some regret. (i.e., And not only did this awful thing happen... but it was all your fault!)

Of course, different investors imagine different worst case scenarios. But we all have them. Wheyn you create the connection from how their investing loss would lead to that terrifying reality, and the investor actually pictures themselves in that situation and feels what it would feel like... that's when you really.

Fifty-two percent chance of a recession?

Whatever, math-guy.

Talk to me when we get to the catfood.

Market Fear: The Poison and The Antidote

If behavioral finance teaches us one thing, it is that Fear trumps Greed. In fact, it's not even close. Fear is like the Harlem Globetrotters playing the Washington Generals. Sure, ostensibly it's a real contest, but despite the ups and downs along the way, we always know who's going to win in the end. The outcome is predetermined, inexorable.

(Authors Note: I used to use the Yankees and the Red Sox for this analogy. But then David Ortiz hit that home run off Mariano Rivera in 2004 and rendered my metaphor obsolete. A pox on your house, Red Sox Nation!!!)

Fear drives the market. Why? Because losing hurts more than winning feels good. Because the future is uncertain, and the default emotion in cases of uncertainty is fear. Because you're not paranoid, the Market really is out to get you, and fear is the greatest weapon in the Market's arsenal.

How do we fight our fear? With "reason"? Well, some people do. And by "some people" I am chiefly referring to Vulcans - the supremely rational beings from the eponymous planet who are not afflicted by such human weaknesses as emotion. (Then again, Vulcans mate only once every seven years, so you can see why emotions could be a big drawback.)

No. For most of us on Planet Earth, we are forced to fight the battle on an emotional level. Reason definitely helps, but only so far as it helps us reacquire our emotional equilbrium.

Fear is a poison. But there is an antidote - Control. Not actual control (which is irrelevant) but the belief that that you have control. Fear beats Greed. Perception beats Reality - at least where our emotions are concerned.

We have seen this play out recently on marketwide level with the recent actions of the Fed Charmain, Ben Bernanke. The market flagged due to fear. (It always does due to fear.) But the fires of fear were stoked in large part because one of the main sources of investors' (sense of) control is the Federal Reserve Board.

After months of hearing "Inflation remains our primary concern", investors began to wonder if the esteemed Dr. Bernanke really "got it". The Market was saying; "Does he understand our concerns? Does he even care?"

Investors were riding shotgun with the Fed Chairman on a dangerous road. They were concerned there may be a cliff up ahead, but they were even more concerned that the Fed Chairman was asleep behind the wheel.

The first shot of control was injected back in July when Chairman Bernanke acknowledged that the mortgage crisis (and credit crunch) were on his radar screen. (Whew! He's not sleeping after all.) The second shot of control came when he lowered the discount rate. (He's awake and he's willing to hit the brakes.)

People called his decision to lower the discount rate a "largely symbolic move". Exactly. Symbols are important, especially when the symbolic gesture tells people, "Relax. I'm on it".

The Market has been calling (or is it whining?) for an interest rate cut. And I, for one, think that would be splendid. But investors got something even more important. They got back their sense of control.

It's like the immortal words of Mick Jagger:

"You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find you get what you need."

Bernanke's awake. It'll do for now.

CNBC INTERVIEW and Waiting 'till the Fat Lady Sings

NEWS FLASH: Marketpsych Managing Director Frank Murtha on CNBC today!!! See the video here.

Market fear is spreading, and that's a good thing.

This afternoon a stranger sitting next to me on the subway asked me how the market was doing today (someone who didn't know I work in finance). When anonymous strangers stop staring straight ahead, and start nervously inquiring after the health of the stock market, then it's about time to search for bargains. I figured that experience was the opposite of knowing it's time to sell when you shoeshine boy (or cab driver, or doorman) is offering you stock tips.

As predicted in my last blog post - shameless self-congratulation :) - the market would drop, bounce, and then drop again on greater fear. Below is this morning's market fear chart. Notice how investor pain has risen well above March's pain levels (this is a 7 month chart).

The sell-off will continue, in fits and starts, until the full depth of the (1) subprime mortgage defaults and (more importantly) (2) Credit (and thus liquidity) squeeze on borrowers is comprehended. As long as there is uncertainty, the markets will not rest, and the relief rallies will be only brief and tentative.

If the extent of overextended borrowers (and subsequent defaults) turns out to be as bad as the Chicken Little's are claiming (unlikely), then the market may not rally until congressional legislation is passed and it's ramifications are fully understood (not a good thing in the short-term). Such legislation would be intended to prevent further profligate borrowing by debt-weary consumers. And better credit monitoring and preparation for liquidity crunches (higher reserves) by financial institutions. As long as interest rates remain low, the expansion should continue with only minor economic consequences. It's just a waiting game now -- to see what the fallout will be, and then it will be time to buy.

Ah, but that's idle speculation of a nervous mind. We have had a pattern of profitable buying on dips recently (past 4+ years), and it's possible that many have become seduced by the ease with which they made money -- letting their guards down. That could end badly, or it could keep on. In any case, it will be safe to buy dips when the cards have all fallen and the hands are turned. We need capitulation, panic, and consequences. Then the liabilities of the losers will be known, and the mess can be cleaned up.

Happy Investing,
Richard