… Or the first impressions of risk? It’s human nature to make snap decisions about new people we meet.

When it comes to investing, how we react to first impressions matters too. We explore why it pays to look beyond short term market dips, and the importance of focusing on long term returns.

The buzz surrounding Bitcoin has grown to new levels in recent months. But is it a new currency and could it possibly turn into an asset to rival the likes of gold? Is it worth investing in Bitcoin?

We give a balanced, simple-terms explanation of Bitcoin’s origins, its rise from obscurity and what the future might hold for cryptocurrencies.

Investors, flesh and bone ones at least, have a tendency to hoard cash due to an innate aversion to loss.

Whether it’s stuffing money under the mattress or leaving large deposits untouched for years in a bank account, we explore both the obvious and hidden risks associated with such behaviour.

At some point, we may have all been tempted to pour savings into the next hotly-tipped success story such as ‘‘Amazon’’ or ‘‘EBay’’. Bar for the lucky few, investing in just one stock can prove to be very costly. In a field of thousands of companies, investors are faced with the significant risk of picking future losers, rather than one of the few elusive winners.

Here we investigate how diversification of investments, can help maintain the balance between investment risk and potential returns.

It is a natural instinct to panic when times get tough, with regards to life or investing. This article looks at what flows of money in and out of funds tell us about investment behaviour during periods of increased market volatility. In particular, we illustrate how acting irrationally can lead to poor investment decisions and possibly even losses.