How biases impact our investments decisions

Loading player...
GUEST – Simon Brown – Founder of JustOneLap

RECENCY BIAS, WHERE THE EVENTS OF RIGHT NOW CLOUD OUR MEMORY OF THE MORE DISTANT PAST AND THOUGHTS OF THE FUTURE, IS A DANGEROUS FACTOR IN DECISION-MAKING, WHETHER YOU ARE BUYING A HOUSE OR A SHARE As humans we are a mess of contradictory cognitive biases that often cause us to make poor decisions, even as we think we're evaluating the available data with a clear head.

Recency bias is perhaps the worst of the many cognitive biases. Simply put, it means we give recent events far more importance than they actually deserve, while ignoring or downplaying older, as well as future, data points. One recent example was in 2021, when the local prime rate was at multidecade lows. This resulted in many people buying houses, because the low rates meant they could afford to do so. The problem is that a quick glance at the longer trend of local interest rates would have shown that the extremely low rates were not likely to last
8 May 2023 5PM English South Africa Business News · Investing

Other recent episodes

BofA Slashes SA Growth Forecast as Inflation Surges

Bank of America has cut South Africa’s 2026 GDP growth forecast to 1.3%, warning that higher oil and fertilizer prices will keep inflation above 4% for most of the year. Economist Tatonga Rusike explains
23 Apr 3PM 11 min

Understanding SA’s First Wealth Score

Franc unveils South Africa’s first-ever Wealth Score, revealing that financial habits—not income—are the strongest predictor of financial health. We unpack why SA’s national score is 45/100 and the behavior gap between knowing and doing with Dr. Thomas Brennan, founder and CEO of Franc.
23 Apr 3PM 13 min

Clicks Lifts HEPS 8% Despite Warehouse Disruptions.

Clicks delivered firm interim results with diluted HEPS up 8.1%, even as warehouse system delays cost an estimated R175 million in lost sales. CEO Bertina Engelbrecht discusses pharmacy growth, trading margins, and festive‑season competition.
23 Apr 2PM 16 min