Type 4 Investor

To be different takes courage because it can be risky. When it comes to personal investing, protective measures include index funds, home purchases, fixed income instruments, gold, cash savings, and large capitalization companies that are standard features of our economies. But will this resonate with Type 4 investors who yearn to be different? 

A Type Four need to be different entails constant comparison with others. Not only will Type 4 investors compare their performances with every available benchmark, but they can also get envious of anyone who does better. The green monster comes hand in hand with feelings of inadequacies about one’s own financial journey, and when that monster rears its head, it can provoke impulsive actions.

As rebellious as Type Fours can be in their bid to be different, their emotional realms can be extra sensitive to moodiness and dark feelings, more so than positive ones. This becomes an issue when dealing with setbacks on their personal investing journeys. If something does not pan out, Type 4 investors can become overwhelmed by profound sadness and dwell on their inner distress longer than they should. 

Type Fours may be disdainful of anything that is ordinary and yearns for something exotic to manifest in their portfolios. Stock picking, venture capital, private equity, non-fungible tokens and all that risky stuff may deliver supernova alpha, but they are also highly complex. When mismanaged – which is only clear in hindsight – it can wipe one out financially. 

Type Four investors have high tendencies to detach from reality and they manifest in different ways. A combination of “could have, should have, would have” and “if only” type of thought processes can suck them into a vortex of inaction. 

Type 4 investors can draw inspiration from the ever-resolute Type One perfectionists to act with grit and firm convictions. When feelings become overwhelming, Type 4 investors may need to step away from themselves, like healthy Type Two givers.