About BeFi Week

Learn how behavioral biases impact financial decision making and what you can do to apply behavioral finance (BeFi)  best practices. Join us all week long as we bring you the insights, tools and resources to improve client financial outcomes utilizing behavioral finance strategies.

BeFi Week Activities 

Take advantage of those thought leaders in the spotlight who are bringing you new ideas and strategies that you can start implementing immediately. 

  • Monday

  • Tuesday

  • Wednesday

  • Thursday

  • Friday

  • Saturday

  • Sunday

befi-barometer-cover

Valuable Research

In today’s ever-changing landscape, it is important to raise awareness about the benefits of behavioral finance for advisors and their clients. Our field research, in partnership with Schwab Asset Management and Cerulli Associates, helps to educate advisors like you, and your clients about the biases that drive disruptive decision making. Download the latest research that reveals what we learned about the evolving role of behavioral finance through a pandemic lifecycle.

Download the BeFi Barometer 2021

 

key-takeaways4

 

 

Advisor Insights

“Communication is key to understanding client expectations and uncovering hidden thoughts, emotions and experiences.”

Wirehouse Advisor

“During the early phases of the pandemic, I sent weekly emails to clients urging them that the best course of action was to take "no action". In my emails, I focused on common mistakes made by investors (i.e. behaviors that led to bad outcomes) hoping that they would avoid making the same mistakes in this downturn”

Private Bank Advisor

“The best portfolio/allocation for the client is the one the client can handle through any market turmoil without panicking"

RIA Advisor

“I regularly attempt to identify client investment biases and discuss them in detail with my clients during our in-person meetings. I also attempt to explain to my clients how I have purposely avoided incorporating those biases into my portfolio construction strategies and recommendations.”

National BD Advisor

 

 

Putting Behavioral Finance to the Test

In a time of an unprecedented social and economic uncertainty, advisors turned to behavioral finance to help clients stay focused on their long-term goals.

A Challenge Observed

Advisors reported seeing more behavioral biases than before—most likely prompted by the increased stresses of the pandemic.

Advisors reported a dramatic increase in all surveyed  behavioral biases, with recency and confirmation biases most common.

Recency bias topped the list of client biases across age groups, although secondary biases tended to differ.

Advisors reported that Millennials seemed to suffer the heaviest weight of biases overall—and Baby Boomers the least.

Explore the behavioral finance terminology glossary

 

combined-charts3

 

 

2021-toews-research-July-19-2021 1 (1)

Value of Behavioral Finance

Even as biases surge, behavioral principles help build trust, promote retention and reduce the dangers of emotional decision making.

Advisors use behavioral finance techniques to redefine the relationships between advisors and clients by instituting insights on biases, risk-tolerance, cultural and emotional characteristics. They use psychology and behavioral science to remove emotional friction and “coach” their clients based on the techniques they learned from academics, research scientists and practitioners, that can help maximize outcomes for the end investor. They also identify patterns and behaviors to mitigate risks.

 

Download the Investor
Behavior Report

 

chart-4

 

 

Common Investor Sentiments

Discover the gaps between client and advisor perceptions regarding their advisory relationship, depth of client temptations, their fears of market declines, and their understanding of their portfolios.

 

 

Key Benefits of Incorporating Behavioral Finance

The surge in biases may have helped advisors see the effectiveness and benefits of behavioral finance techniques more clearly than ever.

Substantial—and growing—majorities of advisors say behavioral finance techniques have proven effective in helping clients reach their long-term goals.

The use of behavioral finance techniques conferred benefits in both client relationships and investing approach.

44%      Strengthened trust, relationships and client retention

43%      Keep clients invested during volatility

41%      Reduced anxiousness and emotional decision making

Chart-3
Behavioral Finance

How We Can Help

The Investments and Wealth Institute is committed to be the leading financial organization individuals and firms turn to for their advanced professional development. That is why we have partnered with industry thought leaders Schwab Asset Management, Toews' Behavioral Investing Institute, Orion Advisor Solutions and our Executive Educational Partners, Yale School of Management, Wharton School of Business and The University of Chicago Booth School of Business to bring behavioral finance strategies directly to you. To learn more, start with resources like these.

Take the Applied Behavioral Course

 

BeFi Insight Briefings







Episode 1

Examining Behavioral Finance Through a Pandemic Lifecycle

Episode 2

Adding Value Through Behavioral Finance Practices

Episode 3

Observed Generational Biases and What We Learned







Episode 4

The Market Reaction to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Terms of Portfolio Construction

Episode 5

The Evolving Impact Behavioral Finance Has on Portfolio Construction

Episode 6

Find Out What Is Inside Today's Advisors Tool Chest

Hear How Leading Experts are Adopting Behavioral Finance Practices

Behavioral Finance Through a Pandemic Lifecycle

Robert Powell, the editor of Retirement Daily at The Street, interviews Omar Aguilar, Ph.D., Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer, Head of Investments at Schwab Asset Management, on the results from the 2021 BeFi Barometer. This episode offers best practices for applying behavioral finance as a means to potentially improve client financial outcomes.

 

Listen Now

Baking Behavioral Finance Into the Advisory Practice

Robert Powell, the editor of Retirement Daily at The Street, interviews Daniel Crosby, Ph.D., Chief Behavioral Officer, Orion Advisor Solutions, on his vision for the future of behavioral finance and why it should be "baked into" the advisory practice. This episode also explores "why you're not that great," the biggest impediments to sound investment-decision making, and the specific types of biases that impact decision-making.


Listen Now

The Existence and Importance of Investment-Tribes and Risk-Preference

Robert Powell, the editor of Retirement Daily at The Street, interviews Sid Muralidhar and Arun Muralidhar, Ph.D., Institute Members, on their award-winning article Behavioral Finance in Investing: The Existence and Importance of ‘Investment Tribes’ and Risk-Preference Diversity. This episode explores the implications of investment tribes and how advisors can apply these research findings to improve client outcomes.

Listen Now

 

Listen to the Exceptional Advisor Podcast

 


 

Get Some Industry Advice

Crystal Balls and Rear-view Mirrors – What we learned about the impact of behavioral finance during a pandemic – and what to expect in the “new normal.”

Schwab Asset Management

Read Now

The Martial Arts of Behavioral Finance

Orion Advisor Solutions

Read Now

Investors Will Act Against Best Interests in a 50-percent+ Market Decline

Toews' Behavioral Investing Institute

Read Now

 

Visit the  InvestmentSense Blog

 

 

 

 

Resources and Tools

Get the latest behavioral finance strategies and best practices to ensure that in evolving and ever-changing times, clients are making decisions that are objective, fact-based and best for their long-term goals. We have a full library of online resources to help get you up-to-speed and ready-to-act with confidence, knowledge and facts.

Visit the BeFi  Resource Center

 

Professional Development

Want to learn how to apply behavioral finance methodologies and tactics to help expand your business? Consider one of our advanced certifications that incorporate behavioral finance practices.

Get More Information

 

 

Brought to You By:

The Investments & Wealth Institute has joined forces with firms Orion Advisor Solutions, Schwab Asset Management, Cerulli Associates, and Toews' Behavioral Investing Institute to bring greater awareness to the field of behavioral finance. Together, we are leveraging our resources to educate members of the financial community.

 

180227_4C_LOGO_Square         Orion Logo                   Schwab-SAM-RGB-Hex-1                     

 

CA-Logo-no tagtoews_bii_footer-2 

 

 

 

 

 

Press Corner

For more information, please contact Cindy Chaifetz at Cindy Chaifetz@i-w.org or call 303.850.3079.

BeFi Week Press Release

BeFi Barometer 2021 Press Release