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The markets are led by greed and fear, but the traders who act on these emotions will get blown out by the market swings.
Some are turning to hypnotherapy to keep their decisions cold and rational, Aaron Surtees, a director at London clinic CityHypnosis, told Business Insider
Surtees has worked with staff at banks and hedge funds including Nomura, UBS, and Henderson Global Investors and says traders ask for the same thing in their treatments. They want "to be like a robot; cold, clinical, highly efficient, high stamina, high concentration, relentless," said Surtees.
It doesn't take long either. Surtees said two to four 15-minute treatments should be enough to reprogramme the subconscious and see gains. It's not cheap, at £195 ($305) per quarter hour session, but stopping people making reckless decisions pays for itself.
"It's about taking away the reckless emotional trades and getting them to do what they want," said Surtees. "Anger and frustration is quite a big one. Shovelling money in even though they know they should get it out and losing their head."
He's treating about a trader a day, although things haven't peaked yet to the pick up in business seen during the 2008 global financial crisis.
And for those who are worried that their newfound robotic behaviour will spill over into their personal lives, Surtees says this is very unlikely.
"It's like a performance, like an actor, so you're in a different mindset the second you step onto the trading floor," he said. "As long as they've got the desire for that change, then you can put all of that into the suggestions."