aesthetic bias

Here is one for all the gym bunnies out there or anyone who has dabbled with personal training.

I think this might be one either Jon Robinson or Steve Thompson Chartered Fellow FCSI®, DipPFS®, CertPFS®(DM/Sec) will have an opinion on?

How many times have you been given a rep range and it is 8-10 or 10-12?
Why is it never 7-9 or 11-13? Do all personal trainers suffer from some sort of OCD?

Actually it is more human that that and comes down to ‘Aesthetic or Symmetry Bias’.

People have a natural preference for symmetry and balance, which often extends to numerical preferences. Even numbers are seen as more orderly and balanced, making them more appealing. It's neither rational nor optimal but helps us as a heuristic or ‘short cut’.

This tendency also extends to investment. How many times have you talked about the 60:40 portfolio or when buying a stock/fund arbitrary rounded to the nearest even number?

It does have an impact on decision-making as symmetry and aesthetics can give comfort, but they may also lead to sup-optimal decisions or missed opportunities, so it is worth checking in on yourself if you fall into this trap.

Just asking yourself the question at each stage of the investment process about whether there is a reason for making even the smallest decisions (like rounding) can help keep this in check.

Anyway, I am off now to go and do 13 bench presses with 63kg.