Are surfers secretly investment whizzes? Photo: WSL (edited)
Every day, it seems new research finds surfing has a groundbreaking, unforeseen therapeutic benefit – from treating depression to PTSD to cancer. But, what if in addition to your physical and mental health surfing could also help us to have healthier investment habits? It’s a stretch, but a recent episode of NPR‘s “The Indicator” podcast investigates.
Speaking with North Shore lifeguard and legendary waterman Brian Keaulana, hosts Cardiff Garcia and Stacey Vanek Smith first suggest that as innovations like leashes and jet ski assist in big wave surfing advance – inflation vests would be another example – less-experienced surfers become more willing to plunge into riskier situations. It’s a paradox that devices designed to increase safety actually undermine it in some respects.
For leashes, the argument goes like this: before them, surfers needed to be great swimmers. After, they need only be able to retrieve the flotation device tethered to their ankle. But, if it fails they’re up Shit’s Creek without a paddle (er, board). Keaulana argues the same could be said in big wave surfing – that efforts to make it safer have also drawn in some surfers that have no business in giant waves. “It’s a double-edged sword,” he says.
So what’s this got to do with finances? Apparently, that trend is similar in financial markets – new products designed to make markets safer actually make people more inclined to take bigger risks. Then regulators come in to adjust, and the cycle happens again. So they’re giving us a blatant warning not to be lulled into a false sense of security.
Maybe Wall Street needs to get on it and start poaching surfers from lineups in Hawaii and California for the trading room floor. Fat chance surfers would be interested, though.
