Why Avoid Personality “Type” Tests

A class of personality tests, known generically as “type indicators,” places clients into one of several categories based on responses to a series of questions and then provides broad descriptions of the category. Some examples of “type indicators” include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the very popular Enneagram.  Type tests are so much fun! It’s fun to see which category you (or your clients) fall into, what other movie stars or sports figures align …
A personality test can efficiently measure a client’s money-related attitudes, values, and other characteristics. While not a perfect science, a well-developed test can accurately assess a client’s personality without some downsides of in-person interviews, which can take time and be impacted by interviewers’ biases or lack of structure.  But like any assessment, personality tests are prone to some errors. These errors could include how clients respond to a test based on wanting to look …
If you have watched a fintech product demo that includes anything remotely related to financial psychology, you might hear the word “personality” thrown around a lot. For example, I heard one very confident salesperson recently refer to his platform as measuring “investor personality” when the tech was measuring the client’s current feelings about investing. Personality characteristics predict a wide range of future outcomes regarding human behavior. The Big Five (or OCEAN) model of personality has been …
Budgeting. Investing. Spending. Each of us reacts to money-related topics on a scale from negative to neutral to positive. Money attitudes are not perfect predictors of financial behaviors. However, how we feel about budgeting, spending, and investing can and does impact our financial goals. Indeed, our attitudes can affect the entire financial planning process, especially when working with others who may not share our perspectives. What Are Attitudes? Let’s start with the basics. What …
Uncover Client Money Mindset with Financial Personality Tests Client personality relates to saving, spending, and investing decisions. How does your firm measure client personality? Financial professionals use our library of behavioral assessments to uncover client financial psychology and provide financial advice, guidance, and coaching. Learn more about our financial personality tests, and discover which ones are right for your practice. Building Wealth Identify and guide client financial behaviors with the Building Wealth test. The …

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