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Wanna Be A Great Trader? Size Matters... Finger Size
Take a moment and look at your hands. Specifically, compare the length of your ring finger to the one you use to point. Is the ring finger longer or shorter than your pointer, and by how much? It turns out that the answer to that question can tell a lot about your mental abilities and appetite for risk. As ConvergEx's Nick Colas details, a 2009 study of mostly male traders working in London found that the ones with longer ring fingers were generally more profitable than those with shorter ones. Traders with the largest fourth finger/second (pointer) finger ratios actually made 11 times more than those with the smallest.
Via ConvergEx's Nick Colas,
A 2012 study of entrepreneurs in Italy showed that highly successful female entrepreneurs tended to have longer ring fingers as well. Researchers believe that the causal link between digits on your hand and in your bank account goes all the way back to the womb. No, finger length is not the only thing that makes you successful in this business. But it clearly doesn’t seem to hurt.
Occasionally I happen upon a theme for one of these notes that seems to stretch well into the distant horizon of the unbelievable. This is one of those days. Still, at ConvergEx we follow the data wherever it leads and we also have an abiding respect for the scientific process. So buckle up – here goes.
The length of your ring finger relative to your pointer digit is a useful proxy for a whole host of personality traits and aptitude for the world of high finance. So take a look at your hand, and check to see which is longer.
If your ring finger is longer than your pointer, then:
You are likely a better athlete than your peers.
You tend to be more physically aggressive, regardless of gender.
You take more risks. If you are an entrepreneur (male or female), you have a greater chance of succeeding.
If you are a woman, may well have knee problems.
If you are a man, have an increased chance of oral and prostate cancers.
If you are taking the SATs soon, expect to do better on the math section. Conversely, if your pointer finger is longer, expect to rock the verbal parts of the exam.
The science behind these observations, some of which date back many years, is relatively recent. It turns out that the way your fingers develop is closely tied to your exposure to specific hormones during pre-natal development. In 2011, researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Florida managed to isolate the exact process by which the exposure to estrogen and testosterone governs the growth of fingers. Males have testosterone receptors in their digits, so the more they get the longer the fourth finger grows. Block the receptors, and you get shorter fourth fingers. Pump in more testosterone, and you get longer ones again. The experiments that yielded these results were done with mice, by the way.
The upshot is that longer fourth fingers are the result of greater exposure to testosterone in utero, and this has other developmental implications beyond digit length. Larger doses of this hormone tend to promote better spacial relations during the key learning years, but also correlate to more aggressive personality types. When it comes time to take standardized tests like the SATs, young men with longer fourth fingers tended to excel in math. Those with smaller fourth/second finger length ratios tended to be better at the verbal parts of the test. Yes, I know all this feels like a lecture from Larry Summers, but (again) all the studies backing up these assertions appear at the end of this note. It does, however, raise the question: is Larry’s fourth finger longer than his second? Inquiring minds want to know.
Let’s move onto safer and more familiar ground: success as a day trader. In 2008 researchers John Coates, Mark Gurnell and Aldo Rustichini parked themselves at a London based prop shop and measured the finger lengths of 49 traders. Then they examined how successful these people were at fast-paced trading. Here is what they found:
The larger the ring finger relative to the pointer, the more profitable the trader on average. The R-squared was 48%, an amazing result for a one-variable analysis.
The traders with the largest 4th/2nd finger ratios did 11x better than those with the smallest ratios.
The researchers offer two explanations, and their data supports both. One is that those traders with longer ring fingers are able to productively process higher levels of testosterone. The amount of the hormone varied day to day by subject, but long-fourth-fingered subjects could take advantage of it when it happened along and use it to boost their confidence. The other explanation is that individuals with longer fourth fingers have superior pattern recognition abilities under pressure, a byproduct of the presence of higher testosterone levels in utero. Put both explanations together and you get a plausible explanation for the fourth-finger effect.
Taken across its full spectrum, this whole analysis is a bit uncomfortable – full of gender stereotypes and nature/nurture debates. Well, I never wanted to be Harvard’s president anyway. Still, it is hard to turn away from the numerous studies on the topic and ignore them. The authors of the traders study do point out that there is far more to success than just finger measurements, and that is fair enough. But that this one simple metric can explain half a trader’s success is pretty dramatic.
And consider this – my own fourth finger is meaningfully longer than my second. I should be home by now – markets closed hours ago. But here I am, writing this note rather than planning tomorrow’s trades. The only thing my own fourth finger is good for is typing the letters on the outer fringes of the keyboard. Guess it really doesn’t work all the time.
Sources:
http://www.livescience.com/7290-finger-length-predicts-sat-performance.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/po-bronson/women-men-judging-risk_b_2741781.html
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15326942dn2801_3
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The thumb is important too... so they can stick it up their butt all day long.
It's sad that he has to add so many disclaimers when explaining biology.
Not working for me.
What if you just have one really fat finger???
I have a longer ring finger than pointer but a small penis.
I guess size where it matters counts!
Thin is in.
I have fat fingers. I was born lucky that way. Bitches.
Ya, and if your palm is bigger than your face, you have cancer.
This is only prove successful broker is more frequently to spend romantic evening with hand.
long pinocchio nose is also a good indicator
with deep brown around the tip
are you conjuring timmie boy geithner here?
A good brain only needs the index finger to press the buy or sell button
What if you just have one really fat finger???
You use it to hit the 'save' key on the ZH comment box.
You can hit it twice apparently.
I remember a person many many years ago, who, successfully predicted by just looking photo copy(xerox) of the runner's hands, who will be the first, second and third winner of the race.
Goddamnit, 4th finger is longer on my left hand and shorter on my right. Fuck!!! Somebody tell me what this means!!!!
It depends on whether you are right handed or not, but one thing that is very clear, It means that at most you should be trading Government bonds.
I'm more concerned with the length of my sixth finger.
It means you are right-handed and pick your nose a lot.
For some, it's the pinky that ends up the longest.
Chances are you're a Hermaphrodite:
Guys have longer ring fingers than index fingers.
Women have longer index fingers than ring fingers.
p.s. That "woman" that you're with, who has a longer index finger... is a guy. Calibrate your expectations accordingly.
Seriously, wasn't there a study done about a decade ago that correlated to length of two of men's fingers with the probability that they would be homosexual? Does anyone remember that, or do I have to go clicking around the Internet for 1/2 hour to try to find it? I'm not kidding. I remember it because the study came out right about the same time an in-law of mine came out of the closet. Coincidence? Uhm, yeah, probably, I guess so.
I was right. Here's an entire blog dedicated to that exact subject. I haven't read it yet, but I'd guess the homosexual fingers are the opposite of the trader/entrepreneur's. I say this because trading desks all seem like testosterone pits and I don't know any brokers who snap and say, "Hated it" when talking about the most recent FOMC report. Here's the site: http://fingerlengthdigitratio.wordpress.com/2008/10/19/your-finger-length-and-your-sexual-preference/
Compare that data against pictures of moochelle's hands.
Not joking.
"That "woman" that you're with, who has a longer index finger... is a guy."
You mean longer ring finger.
They did a study in SF years ago - women with long ring fingers were far more ikely to be dykes, than women with short ring fingers.
I have a great set of finger reminders in front of me - when this sort of data came out many years ago, I looked at my short ring fingers and realized that I wasn't going to be making it in management, Wall Street, the military. Oh, well.
My longest finger, on both hands, is the middle finger.
,,|,,
Must be due to all the exercise over the years.
The appetite for risk and the longer ring finger probably correlates to the guy continually yanking off his wedding ring upon meeting a hot chick in a bar.
As to the mental abilities for always doing this - that's debatable considering some of the bar-skanks these guys hook up with.
Looks like someone didn't like me disparaging his sister.
Or his wife.
Or his mother!
You forgot daughter.
Yeah, badaboom. Big badaboom!
Cat!
Yo gramma one slutty-ass bitch, bitchez! Where my ring at?
According to the recent "junk & run" increase from one, it looks like even more low-lifes are offended by my calling their loose female relatives "bar-skanks."
Oh, how the truth bites!
I guess the wookie must be a great trader....and a dude
Michelle's fingers indicate she is a he in disguise.
Michele has an enormous ring finger. Check it out. I 'm still on the fence, but a preponderance of evidence is just that.
i think it is possibly a testosterone issue. girls with longer ring finger have bigger piss flaps too.
i dont understand why it is surprising that we are differnet,,,
unless you have been indictrinated with the idea that we are all the same....?
or up their boss's butt which explains the higher salary
You know what they say about a man with big hands?
He wears big gloves.
pods
Asinine diatribe.
Well, of course - that's the one you use when you bend over a muppet
That London Whale dude, those fingers, you should have seen those fingers when he hit the buy button. Awesome!
wow, talk about spurious correlations...
Now that is a fantastic website. Bookmarked.
I wonder whether food inflation might correlate with boating accidents
Probably not, but it might correlate by banker deaths by nailgun.
wow, talk about spurious correlations...
my newest favorite WTF site.
Stupid article but it reminds me of one of my favorite brags: "OK, but I want you to know I'm only going to take out enough of it to win this bet."
all i can say is my ring finger is longer than my index finger and my penis is longer than my ring finger... so maybe i should start wacking the keyboard with my penis?
LOL. Gives a whole new meaning to "fat finger". They'll need trading booths like voting booths.
That would be gross. Just wear your ring on your penis....
bam said: "so maybe i should start wacking the keyboard with my penis?"
Be careful... if you prematurely ejaculate...
you might get charged with high-frequency trading.
Any available studies explaining this third leg of mine? ....Oh wait that's not a leg.
I lost my ring fingers in a boating accident.
Reminds me of a joke: Guy gets married and his new Wife "Wendy" convinces him to tattoo her name on his dick.
They go to Jamaica for their honeymoon, and are on a nude beach. He notices a local guy and after looking down says "Hey, my Wife's name is Wendy and I had her name tattooed there too!" The Jamaican guy says "No mahn...mine says 'Welcome to Jamaica, have a nice day!'."
EB - sorry, but i can't help myself. my variation is: guy marries wendy and they go to jamaica on honeymoon, after wendy has convinced him that she spring break there often and loves the place. he goes to pee and the black guy also, and says 'i noticed, do you happen to know a girl named wendy'? etc.
I'll have to set this one up, for most non-Brits.
There's a town in Wales called Llandudno. I'm guessing the game Ludo is better known.
You know where this is going......
Old geezer in hospital.
Old, ugly nurse pulls up the bed sheets and sees a tattoo on his old man.
Goes over to the young, fit nurse and says 'Hey, that old guy has Ludo tattooed on his dick.
Young nurse corrects her and says 'No, it says Llandudno'
It's an oldy, but a goody.
LOL, thanks.
Thank God for young Nurses.
When I was 15 I was hospitalized for broken elbow surgery - that turned into an infection. Almost lost the arm above the elbow.
Anyway, one morning the Doctors and Residents come in on rounds. I wake up and I'm pitching a 5 man tent. The Doc and Residents were all smirking but the young nurse had a peculiar look on her face, eyes slightly widened.
If I'd been 18 I'm sure I'd have gotten some "Night Nurse" attention from her.
Damn the timing! It's always about the timing.
"Almost lost the arm above the elbow". When I read that I wondered about the part of the arm below the elbow and how that would all work if the part of the arm above it was gone. Good story.
What the hell, must have been that glass of whiskey. Thanks Fred.
"Below the elbow" I meant (Ex. Wife would probably say it was above the elbow).
My elbow was swollen up to the size of a football - oozing puss, had a fever of 103. Docs pumped me with antibiotics and said "If your fever and the the swelling aren't down in two days we're going to have to amputate." Oh shit!
Thankfully, the antibiotics worked. Hadn't taken a crap in five days and got a suppository from the nice nurse. Man, those things work!
Selection bias. Taking big risks in trading can also cause you to lose a lot of money. But if you lose money, you get fired. So only the risk-taking traders who happened to be lucky are left, and because they took more risk they happened to be more profitable than the less risky traders.
And hey, if you blow up big enough at one shop, there will always be another spot waiting for you...
There are too many people in the world when studies like this are actually thought of and paid for.
...and other than helping to flip some asshole the bird, it's about a worthless fucking finger to boot.
Useful for the "K" and the "D" on the QWERTY keyboard so you can type "Koolaid".
More importantly, it's the go-to finger for g-spot stimulation.
Sorry Eb, we're talking the L and the S, and possibly the extra finger in the bung hole.
Oh, that finger. Yeah, not so useful.
Lollipops?
BTW - completely agree with you on this, +1.
This post made me think of a different finger.
What if my dick is shorter than my pointer finger? Is that good?
Only if it's thinner too.
Howard Stearn I presume
Did the geniuses who conducted this 'study' also just happen to have a side-job as a palm reader?
I assume the .gov funded this moronic study and it no doubt cost several thousand times what an average math Post Grad could of done it for and likely woith more accuracy. The real measure of success for traders is the cost of their Lambo and 2nd/3rd homes. Inversely proportional to their dick sizes I suspect.
And those traders with the fattest fingers tend to lose the most money. They also like putting on gold trades around 8:30 AM.
My 4th finger is longer than index finger. Seems to be true for me, very risk happy and play poker for living :P
the only digit that matters is the one in the middle. and your finger, too.
My twelve inch pianist is bigger than your twelve inch pianist.
I like how it says you will be better at math. I am shocked to hear that successful traders understand math, statistics, weighted risk, etc.
Poker players are generally good at math too.
What's scary is that sombody actually funded this research and somehow bought these findings enough to publish them. I bet all of you looked at your left hand, noticed a sizable ratio and thought to yourselfs...hmmmmm, yep, I would have been a profitable trader...
I just opened the post to read the comments
Ring finger definitely longer. Check. Now where's my money? Or, do I just get the prostate?
That's more easily checked with the middle finger.
It seems so odd, almost like we are suicidal. Every creature on this planet has evolved survival characteristics based on observations accumulated over many generations of existence. Progressivism appears to demand that we blind ourselves of that evolution, insisting that we cannot discriminate, judge or anticipate any potential behaviors as that would indicate how un-evolved we actually are. The sad part is that we still know these things in our gut and are forced to tamp them down, deny them for the sake of political correctness, lest we be deemed inferior and unsuitable for modern society. Nature will not be denied for too long and when stupidity converges with reality once again, it will likely be epic and ugly.
3 1/2" to 3" 1:66667:1
So what? I don't own stocks. I fit many of the traits though :)
There is a YT video that 'proves' Michelle O is a man (baby) because here ring finger is longer than her index finger (like a man supposedly has (baby).
Traders are also able to apply a much deeper 'showstopper'.
http://alanajoy.tumblr.com/post/99014025/the-teaser-the-pleaser-the-shoc...
Is this the line for the free palm reading?
Something to do with how much testerone you were exposed to while you were in your mother's womb. I think there was a tendency for homosexuals to have longer index??? Maybe I read it wrong (i researched this years ago). Dudes with more of the ratio (longer ring finger to index)=more testerone in womb=more success (if money/power=success)? Something like that.
Did anyone.. anyone?? actually not check their hands before clicking on this story?
what a crock of shit
My finger is much larger than the photo, always used in sex with women and work, not to make money.
Probably it will serve to make a noose or wrap the rope pretty well before hanging a bankster.
hehe.
So this truly is the digital age.
My ring finger is longer than the other fingers. I also lost a shit ton of money on Forex trades and used my ring finger to totally show the middle finger at my charts (oh and screaming too).
Does that help? Having longer fingers to show your emotions.
I should use this long finger to play the guitar on girls pussies.
IMHO, Nick Colas is brilliant at finding off-topic news and science, and bringing it into the financial world. I'm not with the haters. I like his stuff, and I'm happy that the Tyler(s) choose to feature it here. Fire