Temperament Trap: Is Your Personality Your Portfolio's Biggest Enemy?

Career skills like speed and competitiveness may trigger panic selling and overtrading

- Dhirendra Kumar

I recently discovered something curious while chatting with a software engineer friend. He spent hours analysing results, studying balance sheets, and calculating intrinsic values before picking what he thought was the perfect stock. Six months later, after a 15% decline, he sold everything in a panic. Meanwhile, his wife, who calls herself "hopeless with numbers," had quietly built up units in an equity mutual fund through SIPs. Her return? Much better than his, with far less stress.

This isn't an isolated incident, and it's not about stocks vs mutual funds. It's a pattern I've seen repeatedly over two decades of writing on investments. The most analytically gifted often struggle—not due to lack of intelligence, but because their strengths become weaknesses when markets turn volatile. Think of traits we associate with successful professionals. Doctors make quick decisions under pressure. Executives thrive on fast feedback and rapid course correction. Engineers rely on analysis and optimisation. These are admirable in their fields, but can work against them in investing.