Size May Matter When It Comes To The Size Of Your...

Alright get your mind out of the gutter. Size may matter when it comes to the size of your finger. I was listening to Mark & Mercedes on the radio this morning in my hometown of Las Vegas and heard them talk about this study.

Stock Traders who excel at short term or "high frequency" trading may have been exposed to high levels of testosterone in the uterus. Which suggests that successful stock traders may be born, not made.

These traders can hold their stock for minutes, or mere seconds, before selling. Requiring high levels of confidence and fast reaction times.

This is a follow up to a report from last year, which found that traders who started their days with elevated testosterone made more money than those who didn't.

Characteristics of typically associated with high testosterone are acting macho and aggression, but not all successful traders are like that. John Coates who did the study says, "The good ones are very calm, they don't lose their temper, and probably the most extreme sport they do is fly fishing. They're not caveman."

The research conducted at the University of Cambridge, UK studied 49 male traders from the city of London and looked at their index to ringer finger ratio. A marker of prenatal testosterone exposure.

He found that traders with longer fingers, and therefore higher prenatal testosterone, made on average six times the profits of traders exposed to low levels of the hormone and tended to remain traders for longer.

Past studies have also suggested a link between a low index to finger ratio and autism, and better sporting ability.

"However, it takes environment, or experiences and opportunities that a person has, to further shape the brain to this particular career path," says Coates.

And while finger length may provide some indication of your stability to financial trading, Coates cautions bosses against using it to make hiring decisions.

Imagine if people started judging you by your finger size. Gee whiz.