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What is FOMO

Fear of Missing Out is the biggest enemy of an investor. When you see others getting rich, you want to jump in too.
📅 29. April 2026 👁️ 1 views 📂 Risiko 🇳🇴 Les på norsk

Imagine you are at a party you really did not want to attend, but you only went because you were terrified of missing out on something fun. That is exactly how FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) works in the stock market. You see your neighbor getting rich on a new and hot technology stock, and you panic that you will be left on the platform while the train leaves.

"Fear and worry are just misplaced imagination."
— Florence Scovel Shinn

The quote perfectly describes what happens in our brains. We fantasize about how rich everyone else is going to be. The problem is that when a stock is so popular that everyone is talking about it, it is often too late to buy. The price has already been pushed artificially high by all the hype.

Why is it dangerous?

Psychology tricks us into throwing all our rational rules out the window. Investors suffering from FOMO forget to analyze the company, and buy solely because the price is going up. When the party suddenly ends and the bubble bursts, it is often the FOMO investors who are left with the biggest losses.

The hard truth: Large, professional investors love FOMO. When retail investors flock to buy at the top in a panic, the professionals use the opportunity to sell their shares at a massive profit.

How to avoid the trap

Good strategies against FOMO

  • Create a written investment plan and stick to it, no matter what the newspapers write.
  • Accept that you will miss out on some rockets in the stock market. That is the game.
  • If you absolutely must buy a hype stock, only use a tiny portion of your portfolio (play money).

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