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Are Rich Investors Overconfident?

Published: May 03, 2014 2 min read

Money is not a client of any investment adviser featured on this page. The information provided on this page is for educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Money does not offer advisory services.

As the year started, Harry Truman had no idea that his Government was engaged in atomic research. At year's end President Truman was custodian of the bomb and its precarious secret, buffer against its terror, repository of whatever promise it might contain for a world which could use its secret in peace. Harry Truman, a very plain man indeed, who had never sought or dreamed of being Man of the Atomic Year, had been cast up to his position by an accident of the tides, by the shifting forces of politics. In the same startled and unpremeditated fashion, mankind itself, shrinking from the shadow of Hiroshima, dwarfed by the Event of 1945, had got where it was. —
"As the year started, Harry Truman had no idea that his Government was engaged in atomic research. At year's end President Truman was custodian of the bomb and its precarious secret, buffer against its terror, repository of whatever promise it might contain for a world which could use its secret in peace. Harry Truman, a very plain man indeed, who had never sought or dreamed of being Man of the Atomic Year, had been cast up to his position by an accident of the tides, by the shifting forces of politics. In the same startled and unpremeditated fashion, mankind itself, shrinking from the shadow of Hiroshima, dwarfed by the Event of 1945, had got where it was." —
Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

How long will this party last?

Five years into the bull market, 57% of well-off clients polled by wealth manager deVere Group are bullish on the next 12 months -- the most since 2007.

Skip the celebration: Optimism usually peaks as the good times end. Instead, follow this three-step plan for handling the emotional side of investing.

Sober advice

Do more research. Watch for other ominous signs of overconfidence.

One noted by Leuthold Weeden chief investment officer Doug Ramsey: Trading in speculative penny stocks jumped last year to its highest level since 2007.

Stay on target. Are you too prone to trading as the market's mood -- and yours -- shifts? Go for set-it-and-forget-it options like target-date funds.

In 2008, while panicked savers yanked $229 billion from stock funds, target-date funds saw inflows of $42 billion.

Related: Tools to make your money grow

Watch your wallet. As market confidence rises, resist the urge to splurge on stuff other than stocks.

For every $1 increase in stock wealth, consumer spending jumps 2¢, according to Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi.

In a bubbly mood? Go ahead, congratulate yourself on getting that much closer to your long-term wealth goals!