10 Signs You’re a Narcissistic Investor

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Some amount of narcissism (a strong belief in yourself) can be helpful in giving you the confidence to apply for a new job or ask for a raise but sometimes these same traits can become too extreme and you can find yourself part of the “narcissism epidemic” that psychologist Jean Twnege and Keith Campbell coined in their book of the same name.

The more you identify with these characteristics, the more likely you are to be a narcissistic investor.

1. You always know what you’re doing.
   1. “I know I’m good because everybody keeps telling me so.”
2. Everybody likes to hear your stories and you often boast about your latest or greatest winning trade during conversations.
   1. “Seeking admiration is like a drug for narcissists”, said Mitja Back a psychologist at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz Germany. “In the long run it becomes difficult because others won’t applaud them so they always have to search for new acquaintances from whom they get the next fix.”
3. If an investment loses money it’s because someone else made a mistake, not you.
   1. I almost always hear how my broker sold me this (name a losing investment) vs. I bought this (name a winning investment).
4. You’re a workaholic.
   1. Workaholics also tend to be impatient and compulsive.
5. You get upset when people don’t notice how well you’re doing financially.
6. When talking with someone you make exaggerated hand movements, talk loudly and show disinterest when others speak.
7. Rules don’t apply to you.
   1. Psychologist Joshua Foster and Keith Campbell found in a study that narcissists are more likely to cheat in a relationship once they feel their partner is committed to them.
   2. In his autobiography about his time as a highly paid hedge fund trader, Turney Duff recounts a phrase he used while bypassing entrance lines at nightclubs, “We don’t wait in lines, we snort them.”
8. You really hate having your investment ideas criticized.
   1. Narcissists typically have inflated visions of their own importance yet are quick to feel deflated by negative feedback.
   2. “Your criticisms about my investment ideas are taken as a personal attack on me and not merely a concern about the investment.”
9. You seek admiration by devaluing other people’s investment ideas.
   1. Instead of listening in order to be responsive, narcissists listen in order to dismiss, negate, ignore or minimize.
10. What you perceive to be important is all that matters.
    1. It doesn’t matter what the debate or discussion is about, your opinion and your conclusions are more relevant than someone else’s.