Emotions + Investing = Trouble

Check out this recent article in FORTUNE magazine about CNBC.

The title of the article tells you everything you need to know:  CNBC feels your pain... And your anxiety, and your greed, and your outrage, and your optimism. And by tapping into your emotions about the market, the channel is cashing in (my emphasis)

Like all "news" outlets on TV, on newsstands or on the internet, they are paid by advertisers to keep viewers and readers tuned in to their content.  They keep people tuned in by playing to their emotions.  When the market is down, it's all about fear.  When the market is going up, it's all about greed.

But when you make investment decisions based on emotions, there's sure to be trouble ahead.

In his recent post over at the Behavior Gap, Jason speaks to this very issue when he encourages us to "Think, Act, Feel" instead of the more typical "Feel, Act, then Think".

However, the FORTUNE article about CNBC makes it clear that they have a profit motive to keep you in the old (and broken) paradigm of "Feel, Act, then Think".

As a reminder, don't confuse Entertainment & Investing.  It's a bad idea.