📢 Availability Bias

Are you investing based on real data or just the last thing making noise in your head?

Sometimes the market isn't what the fundamentals show, but what’s shouting loudest in your memory. Has it ever happened to you that, after seeing news about a massive hack, you suddenly feel the entire tech sector is a mess? Or after reading three posts in a row about a "historic opportunity," you feel you "have" to jump in right now because everyone is talking about it?

📉 Watch out: Your brain isn't analyzing; it's being lazy. This is called Availability Bias.

🧠 What exactly is it?

 It’s our mind's tendency to give more value and credibility to information that we recall most easily. We tend to prioritize what’s most recent, most dramatic, or what we’ve personally experienced, ignoring actual statistics or the full picture.

Basically, your mind takes a dangerous shortcut: "If I remember it quickly, it must be important." And in trading, that shortcut usually leads straight to a mistake.

🏠 How does it play you on eToro?

• The "bombshell" news effect: Recent negative news can make you panic sell, even if the fundamentals remain intact, just because fear is a very "available" emotion in your memory.

• Recent personal experiences: If your last trade was a roaring success with a volatile asset, your mind will tell you it's "easy" to repeat the move, forgetting all the times that same asset has failed.

• Feed noise: If you log in and see 10 people talking about $NVDA, your brain assumes it’s the most logical investment right now, simply because it’s the information most at hand.

🛠️ How to clear your radar (and not decide on impulse)

To be an elite investor, you must learn to doubt what you think you "know." Don't stay on the surface of your memories.

1. Look at the history, not just the headline: Before trading on news, look at the long-term chart. Put the news into historical perspective.

2. Search for "invisible information": Ask yourself: "What data am I NOT seeing right now because it's not as flashy?" Often, the most boring stuff is the most profitable.

3. Distrust emotional intensity: If a piece of information generates a lot of euphoria or fear, this bias is likely amplifying it in your head.

4. Use data, not anecdotes: A shocking story from a user is not a statistic. Base your moves on numbers, not narratives.

"The easiest information to remember is rarely the most useful for investing. In the market, those who stay on the surface end up drowned by the noise."