People often act as if their personal involvement can favorably influence the outcomes of random events. Just as the gambler feels more in control when he rolls the dice himself, an online investor may feel in control when he executes a trade. But the gambler controls only when the dice roll but not how they land. And the investor controls only when his trade executes, but not its profitability. Trading advertisements play to hopes and fears.
Advertisements also appeal to our cognitive biases.
Ads such as the one that reads You ll make more, because you know more reinforce the illusion of knowledge. Others promote a false sense of control. One online broker states that online investing is about control. And when Stuart fantasizes about grabbing the market with his hands, dangling it upside down, and shaking til the money comes loose, he s describing a control investors can long for, but never have. The online brokerage industry will spend hundreds of millions this year to persuade you that active trading is profitable and fun.