REVIEW OF BEHAVIORAL BIASES - AN INDIVIDUAL EQUITY INVESTOR PERSPECTIVE.

Research has proved that investors in the equity market are not consistently rational. Emotions influence their decision making process in the complex environment of equity market, in the form of behavioral biases. This paper reviews five important behavioral biases exhibited by investors in the equity market. The behavioral biases reviewed include, representativeness, anchoring, gambler?s fallacy, availability and optimism. The literature available for each of the biases is reviewed and hence this paper draws attention to a new dimension in finance.