Stock markets displayed their unpredictability in 2019, striding surprisingly and steadily higher after shaking off the volatility of the prior year. Low interest rates and generally benevolent economic and profit conditions provided the catalyst.

The true objective of the brain is to maximise its rate of reward. Evolution has hard-wired us to place a high value on instant – in preference to delayed - gratification. Neuroscience, however, indicates that sound reasoning and discipline deliver substantial rewards for deferment.

Conforming under the pressure of peers is something with which most people are familiar. Professor Solomon Asch theorised about it and then used interesting experiments to test his thesis. Extrapolating for investment decisions, we can estimate that 30 per cent of investors will conform to peer pressure.