Long-term investing

Financial Focus

by JANET ROSS

Like every other investor, you prefer not to see the value of your investments drop. But at some point they will fall simply because of the ups and downs of the market. And how you respond to short-term losses can help determine if you enjoy long-term investment success.

Investors’ feelings about losses can be complex. In the field of economics, an area of study is devoted to “loss aversion” — the concept that people dislike losing money so much that, given a choice, they’d prefer to avoid losses rather than take gains. For example, if you have a high degree of loss aversion, then you will find greater dissatisfaction by losing $100 than you’d get satisfaction from taking a $100 profit.