Trading Psychology: The 14 Stages of Investor Emotions

Written by Blain Reinkensmeyer
Edited by Carolyn Kimball
Fact-checked by Steven Hatzakis

September 23, 2024

Efficient markets are based on the assumption that rational people enter transactions with the intent to maximize gains and minimize losses. While this theory is sound, most investors are not the purely rational robots that efficient markets rely upon. Instead, emotions often cloud our decision-making and prevent us from acting in a rational manner.

Knowing we can never conquer our inherent emotional biases, we should seek to understand the range of emotions we may experience as investors and how it affects our interactions with the market. A common market psychology cycle exists that shines light on how emotions evolve and the effect they have on our decisions. By understanding the stages of this cycle, we can tame the emotional roller coaster.

This stock market emotions chart illustrates the 14 stages of the investing journey. Do any of them sound familiar to you?

Chart depicting the cycle of market emotions for traders and investors

14 stages of investor emotions

Optimism – A positive outlook encourages us about the future, leading us to buy stocks.
Excitement – Having seen some of our initial ideas work, we begin considering what our market success could allow us to accomplish.
Thrill – At this point, we investors cannot believe our success and begin to comment on how smart we are.
Euphoria – This marks the point of maximum financial risk. Having seen every decision result in quick, easy profits, we begin to ignore risk and expect every trade to become profitable.
Anxiety – For the first time the market moves against us. Having never stared at unrealized losses, we tell ourselves we are long-term investors and that all our ideas will eventually work.
Denial – When markets have not rebounded, and we do not know how to respond, we begin denying either that we made poor choices or that things will not improve shortly.
Fear – The market realities become confusing. We believe the stocks we own will never move in our favor.
Desperation – Not knowing how to act, we grasp at any idea that will allow us to get back to break-even.
Panic – Having exhausted all ideas, we are at a loss for what to do next.
Capitulation – Deciding our portfolio will never increase again, we sell all our stocks to avoid future losses.
Despondency – After exiting the markets, we do not want to buy stocks ever again. This often marks the moment of greatest financial opportunity.
Depression – Not knowing how we could be so foolish, we are left trying to understand our actions.
Hope – Eventually we return to the realization that markets move in cycles, and we begin looking for our next opportunity.
Relief – Having bought a stock that turned profitable, our faith that there is a future in investing is renewed.

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Individuals clearly follow this cycle in their decision-making process. Since broad indices like the S&P 500 reflect the decisions of millions of individuals, we should expect index prices to track this pattern as well.

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Key takeaway: If we are aware of the stage of the cycle we are experiencing at a given point in time, we will have a greater grasp of how our emotions are affecting our investment decisions. This knowledge will help us manage our own investment portfolios as well as predict the next step for the broad market.

Learn more: A great tool for building skills and learning how to invest more successfully is to keep a trading journal. I’ve rounded up my list of the picks for best trading journal apps here.

About the Editorial Team

Blain Reinkensmeyer has 20 years of trading experience with over 2,500 trades placed during that time. He heads research for all U.S.-based brokerages on StockBrokers.com and is respected by executives as the leading expert covering the online broker industry. Blain’s insights have been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and the Chicago Tribune, among other media outlets.

Carolyn Kimball is a former managing editor for StockBrokers.com and investor.com. Carolyn has more than 20 years of writing and editing experience at major media outlets including NerdWallet, the Los Angeles Times and the San Jose Mercury News. She specializes in coverage of personal financial products and services, wielding her editing skills to clarify complex (some might say befuddling) topics to help consumers make informed decisions about their money.

Steven Hatzakis is the Global Director of Research for ForexBrokers.com. Steven previously served as an Editor for Finance Magnates, where he authored over 1,000 published articles about the online finance industry. Steven is an active fintech and crypto industry researcher and advises blockchain companies at the board level. Over the past 20 years, Steven has held numerous positions within the international forex markets, from writing to consulting to serving as a registered commodity futures representative.

Trading Psychology: The 14 Stages of Investor Emotions

14 stages of investor emotions

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