Copying the crowd may feel strategic; but it’s often a pattern of ‘mis-investment.’ Such a behavior crystallizes into investor archetypes, suggesting some facts produce wildly different choices.
‘Mis-investment’ describes a pseudo-investment pattern, an action that feels like investing superficially, but is not grounded in understanding, analysis, or intrinsic value. A mis-investment taxonomy helps make sense of these subtle behavioral patterns and group investors into archetypes based on the beliefs and tendencies behind their decisions.
Mis-investment drains wealth quietly while giving the illusion of investing, so identifying your archetype gives you greater control over why and what you invest in and helps you avoid repeating the same mistakes. Let’s dig deeper into the archetypes.
THE HARD-VESTOR:
Hard vestors follow the crowd and invest by social imitation. They look at what friends, colleagues, relatives, or online groups are doing and assume the crowd must know something they don’t. A few repeated mentions of an investment idea or a shared excitement is often enough to push them into action. They aren’t investing to create intrinsic value; in the name of investment, in the name of investment, they simply ‘misinvest’ by following the herd.
THE PROP-VESTOR:
Propvestors place enormous faith in real estate and they believe that real estate is the most reliable path to wealth creation.
“Land, property always appreciates” is their mantra, even when reality paints a different picture. Appreciation becomes real only when you sell, and rent, the only steady return, tends to be low in India. The average gross residential rental yield in Indian cities hovers around 3-5%, even in high-demand markets. With such modest returns, Prop-vestors may not be growing their money in real terms because inflation quietly eats into whatever gains they expect.
THE EGO-VESTOR:
Ego-vestors invest to feed their ego and status, rather than value. Even if the fundamentals are weak, they choose options that sound prestigious or impressive. For instance, without checking the company’s financials, they may chase high-profile IPOs just to boast tat they “got an allotment.” Or they might put money into a startup they barely understand because the title of “angel investor” appeals to them.
THE TALE-VESTOR:
Tale-vestors invest in narratives not numbers; they invest in stories not substance. A charismatic personality; a dramatic turnaround tale or any compelling story is enough to sway them. For instance, they buy land or property because of a famous hero or sports star endorsed it. Tale-vestors also jump into ideas based on sweeping stories like “EV is the next boom,” “AI will change the world” or “Crypto is the future.”
THE MYTH-VESTOR:
Myth-vestors make investment decisions based on long-held financial myths and inherited beliefs rather than facts. They follow ideas passed down by ancestors, culture or hearsay — gold is always gold; insurance is investment’ older companies are safer’ mutual finds are risky. These beliefs feel too familiar to question.
THE NOT-VESTOR:
Not-vestors often confuse spending with investing, labeling big-ticket consumption as an investment. They make large purchases that feel like assets but are actually depreciating expenses. For instance, a twelve-lakh car as a one-time investment, unaware that its value began depreciating the moment it was driven out of the showroom. The weight of the purchase creates the illusion of investing, even though it adds no real value. The moment you recognize your archetype mis-investment loses its grip and real investment starts to take shape with clarity.
