Successful investors avoid emotional impulses and the madness of crowds

As uncomfortable as it may be, take the unpopular route and run against the herd if you want superior returns

Pat McCormack is head of wealth and investment management at Barclays Bank Ireland

The most succinct rule of good investing is wonderfully simple: “buy low, sell high.”

We all know this, and most of us think it is so obvious it is not worth saying at all. And yet it is a rule that investors keep on breaking. In January, with sliding markets grabbing the headlines, investors sold out of equities – to the tune of around $60 billion.

Why is it we repeatedly give in ...