The 52-week high is just a number: the highest price a share has traded at over the past year. Yet it has a remarkable hold on investor behaviour. As a stock nears that high, everyday investors rush to sell, and professional investors are often more than happy to buy what they are selling.
Nadine Blayney is joined by Andrew Coleman, CEO of Teaminvest, and Andrew Grant, Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Sydney, who researches the psychology of household investment decisions and the biases that separate individual investors from institutions.
They explore why anchoring on the price you paid distorts judgement, how the disposition effect pushes investors to sell winners early and cling to losers, and why a trading platform that shows your purchase price every time you log in may be doing you no favours. Andrew Coleman sets out a better approach: anchor on intrinsic value or, at the very least, the PE ratio, rather than an arbitrary 12-month window.
The conversation then moves from theory to practice, looking at AMP, Data#3, Lycopodium and Codan through 10-year earnings and PE charts to show how a little digging separates rising earnings from rising sentiment. Andrew Coleman also explains why the market is really just an auction, and why heavy volume rarely means the market knows something you don't.
To finish, viewer Sarah from the Gold Coast asks whether waiting for a pullback that never comes is costing her money.
General information only, not personal financial advice. Teaminvest Pty Ltd (AFSL 334339).
Segment outline
• 00:00:00 Welcome and the big question: why does a new high make investors want to sell?
• 00:01:11 Guests introduced: Andrew Coleman (Teaminvest) and Associate Professor Andrew Grant (University of Sydney)
• 00:01:48 Anchoring, heuristics and the gap between the rational actor and the human investor
• 00:03:38 The disposition effect and "get-even-itis"
• 00:05:25 "We're still monkeys": scarcity instincts and locking in gains
• 00:08:35 Is selling at a fresh high always a mistake?
• 00:09:56 Don't water the weeds and cut the flowers
• 00:11:10 "No one ever went broke taking a profit" and the real opportunity cost
• 00:12:46 Dividends, purpose and thinking about the whole portfolio
• 00:14:12 Theory to practice: AMP, Data#3, Lycopodium and Codan on 10-year charts
• 00:17:34 Why knowledge only compounds in one direction
• 00:24:07 The market is just an auction, and 74% of ASX volume is passive
• 00:28:37 Selling isn't wrong. Selling for the wrong reason is.
• 00:29:24 Viewer question: Sarah from the Gold Coast on missing the boat
• 00:32:04 Wrap-up
Subscribe, leave a review, and send your questions to [email protected]. Learn more about value investing at teaminvest.com.au 🎧 Available on [YouTube](https://youtube.com/@teaminvest2007?si=Du-CVL6yVR40ZryF), [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/teaminvest-wealth-builders/id1811489508) and [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/71dSg1DgpesFF5TcaUsM1j?si=ade33c5f74bb4208).
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🎧 Available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
🎙️ Enjoyed this episode?
Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review on your favourite podcast platform. It helps us grow and reach more Wealth Builders like you.
💡 More Teaminvest:
For more insights into Teaminvest’s disciplined, research-driven approach to investing, visit our website and learn how to become part of our investor community.
Follow us on: LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook
📩 Join the conversation
Have thoughts or questions? Email us at [email protected]