A financial analyst utilizing his analytical expertise and up-to-date information buys a company’s stock. His close friends, who lack information or expertise, imitate the financial analyst’s action and buy the stock. Which of the following statements concerning this behavioral bias is most accurate?
This behavioral bias is an example of an information cascade wherein the transmission of information is from those participants who act first and whose decisions influence the decisions of others. The behavior of informed traders acting first and uninformed traders imitating the informed traders is consistent with rationality. The imitation trading by the uninformed traders helps the market incorporate relevant information and improves market efficiency.