When it comes to taking a risk when investing in the stock market, whether with stocks or exchange traded funds(ETFs), can your risk appetite be linked to your genetic makeup?
According to a new study, our genetic makeup accounts for how much risk we are willing to take on, with our savings or otherwise. Janet Babin for Marketplace reports that dopamine and serotonin are brain chemicals that play a role in behaviors, like addiction or how neurotic we are. According to the study, two genes that regulate these chemicals are culprits in our economic behavior.
It appears that risk aversion and appetite are linked to how much our ancestors moved around, with travelers to far places giving way to modern day people who take on big risks. Some U.S. scientists are actually blaming bad genes on the current economic slump. According to BBC News, scientists discovered that the volunteers who took the most risks had a particular version of a dopamine-regulating gene and another gene that regulates serotonin.
Your genes can’t take all the blame, though. At most, researchers say that 30% of a variety of people can actually blame risk-taking on genes. The rest is a product of upbringing, and some of the study does shed light on the current state of the economy.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.