Hallycon Academy

Course 10 · Next step

Your investor mind

Why our brains trip us up with money, what the research shows, and simple rules that protect you from your worst moments.

  • 6 lessons
  • 42 min
  • Free
  • A certificate when you finish

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Who it is for

For anyone who has ever bought on excitement or sold in a panic, or wants to avoid it, before real money is at stake.

The lessons

Each lesson has a short video, a quiz and links to learn more. The full lessons open after a free sign-in.

  1. Lesson 1: Your brain wasn't built for markets

    7 min

    Why your body sounds the alarm when prices fall, and why a loss hurts about twice as much as an equal gain feels good.

    Key points

    • Falling prices set off a real stress response in the body, even in professional traders.
    • Losses weigh about twice as much as equal gains (Kahneman and Tversky; Nobel Prize 2002).
    • Knowing this is half the defence; written rules do the rest.

  2. Lesson 2: Fear and greed: buying high, selling low

    7 min

    People pile in after prices rose and sell after they fell. Why recent years feel like forever, why investors often earn less than the funds they hold, and why calm beats clever.

    Key points

    • Recent years shape what we expect, so money tends to flow in after good years and out after bad ones.
    • Studies find investors' own results often trail the markets and funds they hold, because of timing (Dichev, 2007; Friesen and Sapp, 2007).
    • Investing a fixed amount every month takes the timing decision away.

  3. Lesson 3: FOMO, the herd and finfluencers

    7 min

    Tips from friends, social media hype and paid influencers. Why we follow the crowd, who gets paid for what you see, and why to be extra careful when everyone is talking about something.

    Key points

    • Fear of missing out makes us buy what is already popular and expensive.
    • Many money influencers earn from what they promote; EU and national regulators have warned about this (ESMA, AFM, AMF, BaFin).
    • Missing one chance costs less than chasing every one.

  4. Lesson 4: Overconfidence and hindsight

    7 min

    Afterwards, everything looks obvious. Why trading more has usually meant earning less, and how a decision journal keeps you honest.

    Key points

    • Hindsight makes past moves look predictable; they weren't.
    • In a large study of US households, the most active traders earned clearly less than the market after costs (Barber and Odean, 2000).
    • Write down why you buy, and read it again a year later.

  5. Lesson 5: Checking too often

    7 min

    Look often and you see more losses and feel worse. Why looking changes behaviour, how to set fixed check-in dates, and which alerts to switch off.

    Key points

    • The more often you look, the more often you see a loss (Benartzi and Thaler, 1995).
    • Fixed check-ins, monthly or quarterly, are enough for long-term money.
    • Turn off price alerts you don't act on, and keep your bank's security alerts.

  6. Lesson 6: Rules beat moods

    7 min

    Checklists, if-then plans and automatic steps: write your rules while you're calm, automate what you can, and decide now what you'll do if markets drop 30%.

    Key points

    • Decisions made calmly beat decisions made in panic; a short checklist helps even experts.
    • A written plan and an automatic monthly amount do the hard work.
    • Decide today: "If markets drop 30%, I will…"

What’s inside

  • Short videos: About two minutes for each lesson
  • Quizzes: Three questions after each lesson
  • Calculators: Inflation, compound interest, an emergency fund and fees
  • Certificate: For every course you complete

The full lessons, videos and quizzes open after a free sign-in: your name, email, mobile number and a PIN. No card, no obligation.

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General financial education. Hallycon Academy does not manage money, sell investment products or give personal advice. Examples in the lessons promise no return.

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