WASHINGTON — The length of a man’s ring finger may predict his success as a financial trader.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge in England report that men with longer ring fingers, compared with their index fingers, tended to be more successful in the frantic high-frequency trading in the London financial district.
Indeed, the impact of biology on success was about equal to years of experience at the job, the team led by physiologist John M. Coates reports in Monday’s edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The length ratio between those two fingers is determined in the womb and the relatively longer ring finger indicates greater exposure to the male hormone androgen, the researchers noted.
Previous studies have found that such exposure can lead to increased confidence, risk preferences, heightened vigilance and quickened reaction times.
In the new study, the researchers measured the right hands of 44 men engaged in trades that involved rapid decision-making and quick physical reactions.
Over 20 months, those with longer ring fingers compared to their index fingers made 11 times more money than those with the shortest ring fingers. Over the same time, the most experienced traders made about 9 times more than the least experienced ones.
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