Investors like to invest in companies around the corner, says Thomas the Sparkojote. As a Swiss citizen, he also has many Swiss stocks: “You just have to be satisfied!”
How important is a home bias to you?
Thomas Kovacs: I think maybe I do it unconsciously. But I am aware that I have a home bias. I have around 40 percent Swiss titles and the rest is the USA. I only have the USA / Switzerland actually. I think that’s very normal because that’s how people are. He likes what he knows better or is more convinced of it. This is normal human behavior. It is therefore not surprising that a German also has many German companies. He knows them because he knows that Daimler is around the corner, for example. There is also something psychological behind it. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing, but I think it can be both a disadvantage and an advantage. It depends a little on the situation, on the company.
But a Nestlé share, for example, anyone could reproach me: “You’re Swiss, you invest in Nestlé, that’s home bias.” But if a German invests in Nestlé now, that’s exactly the same. It’s also very subjective. But of course: Many have such a home bias. And I think that’s okay too. You support the local economy in a certain way. If all private investors only invest in companies from the USA, it would no longer work here. You can look at it from both sides. But yeah, I definitely have a home bias.
I am aware of this, but I do not mind. I can sleep well, that’s the most important thing in investing. If you can’t sleep or if something is going on in your stomach, you have a problem. Then the asset allocation is wrong, the company is wrong, an investment is wrong or you don’t have your strategies yet. And that’s not good because stress is bad. You age faster, you can get sick, that’s really the case. You just have to be satisfied with your investments and that is important.
