Articles

Traditional or behavioral finance?

Bozhidar Nedev — Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski
Published: 01.03.2018

Abstract

The main differences between the neoclassical financial theory and behavioural finance are presented. They include the concept of rational economic agents, the notion of objective probability, the capital asset pricing models, the portfolio theory and the efficient market hypothesis. The theory of expected utility and the prospect theory are the most distinguished scientific achievements in conventional and behavioural finance respectively. The theoretical assumptions and the practical implementations, on which they are built, are summarized. The psychological effects, determining the decision making process of economic agents in uncertainty, are alleged and compared to the notions of the normative theory. The two different viewpoints of the two opposing fields in finance are presented with regard to the financial markets and instruments, the decisions made by investors and the portfolios constructed by them.

References

Канеман, Д. (2012). Мисленето. С.: „Изток-Запад“ (прев. от Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York: Macmillan).

Менгов, Г. (2010). Вземане на решения при риск и неопределеност. С.: „Жанет“.

Петранов, С. (2010). Инвестиции: Теория и практика на финансовите инструменти и пазари. Първо издание. С.: „Класика и стил“.

Седларски, Т., Г. Димитрова (2014). Основни концепции в теорията на поведенческите финанси. – В: Годишник на Стопанския факултет на СУ „Св. Климент Охридски”, 12, с. 195-220.

Седларски, Т., Г. Димитрова (2016). Поведенчески публични финанси. – В: Годишник на Стопанския факултет на СУ „Св. Климент Охридски“, 14, с. 235-254.

Ackert, L., R. Deaves (2010). Behavioral Finance: Psychology, DecisionMaking, and Markets. Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Baker, K., J. Nofsinger (2010). Behavioral Finance: Investors, Corporations, and Markets. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Baker, K., V. Ricciardi (2014). Investor Behavior: The Psychology of Financial Planning and Investing. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Burton, E., S. Shah (2013). Behavioral Finance: Understanding the Social, Cognitive, and Economic Debates. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Copur, Z. (2015). Handbook of Research on Behavioral Finance and Investment Strategies: Decision Making in the Financial Industry. Hershey: Business Science Reference.

Ehrhardt, M. C., E. F. Brigham (2011). Financial Management Theory and Practice, 13th Edition. Mason: South-Western.

Fama, E., К. French (1996). Multifactor Explanations of Asset Pricing Anomalies. – Journal of Finance, 51(1), p. 55–84.

Grether, D., C. Plott (1979). Economic Theory of Choice and the Preference Reversals Phenomenon. – American Economic Review, 69, p. 623-628.

Lakonishok, J., A. Shleifer, W. Vishny (1994). Contrarian investment, extrapolation, and risk. – Journal of Finance, 49, p. 1541-1578.

Lewis, M. (2004). Moneyball. New York: W. W. Norton & Company Inc.

Lichtenstein, S., P. Slovic (2006). The Construction of Preference. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Ming, H., I. Krajbich, C. Zhao, C. F. Camerer (2009). Neural Response to Reward Anticipation under Risk Is Nonlinaer in Probabilities. – Journal of Neuroscience, 29, p. 2232-2237.

Nagel, S. (2005). Short Sales, Institutional Investors and the Cross-Section of Stock Returns. – Journal of Financial Economics, 78(2), p. 277–309.

Pompian, M. (2012). Behavioral Finance and Wealth Management: How to build investment strategies that account for investor biases, 2nd edition. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Rabin, M. (2000). Risk Aversion and Expected-Utility Theory: A Calibration Theorem. – Econometrica, 68, p. 1281-1289.

Siu, J. K. Y. (2012). Fama-French Model: New Perspectives from the UK Stock Market. – Journal of Undergraduate Research in Finance, 2(1), p. 1-23. Available from http://jurf.robinson.gsu.edu/wp-content/blogs.dir/184/files/2012/12/FamaFrenchModel- Paper4.pdf

Shefrin, H. (2008). A Behavioral Approach to Asset Pricing, 2nd edition. Burlington: Academic Press.

Shefrin, H., M. Statman (1995). The Disposition to Sell Winners Too Early and Ride Loosers Too Long: Theory and Evidence. – Journal of Finance, 40, p. 777-790.

Shefrin, H., M. Statman (2000). Behavioral Portfolio Theory. – Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 35(2), p. 127-151.

Shleifer, A., L. Summers (1990). The Noise Trader Approach to Finance. – Journal of Economic Perspective, 4(2), p. 19-33.

Sokol-Hessner, P., M. Hsu, N. G. Curley, M. R. Delgado, C. F. Camerer, E. A. Phelps (2009). Thinking Like a Trader Selectively Reduces Individuals` Loss Aversion. PNAS, 106, p. 5035-5040. Available from http://www.pnas.org/content/106/13/ 5035.full

Statman, M. (2002). How much Diversification is Enough? SSRN Electronic Paper Collection, p. 1-21. Available from: http://ssrn.com/abstract=365241

Szyszka, A. (2013). Behavioral finance and Capital markets. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Tversky, A., D. Kahneman (1981). The Framing of Decisions and the Psychology of Choice. – Science, 211, p. 453-458.

Tversky, A., D. Kahneman (1992). Advances in Prospect Theory: Cumulative Representation of Uncertainty. – Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 5, p. 297-323.

Widger, C., D. Crosby (2014). Personal Benchmark: Integrating Behavioral Finance and Investment Management. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons Inc.