Peter Elston: Head versus gut in retirement investing

Risk is a part of our everyday lives. Whether consciously or unconsciously, we make risk assessments for every action we undertake. We make these assessments using two methods - instinct and logic - and, while many of us would like to consider ourselves logical all the time, that is often not the case. As an example, many more people report a fear of traveling by plane than they do a fear of traveling by car yet, statistically, driving is a far more dangerous method of transport than flying. Humans are not always logical and often ‘gut' instinct takes over. Investing is a game that of...