Last month a war (of sorts) was declared, pitting various risk tolerance companies against each other concerning their methodologies relating to portfolio risk assessment and analysis. The dispute appeared to be outside the realm of measuring a client’s appetite for risk. However, there is a very real and clear line of demarcation in the world of risk-tolerance assessment “advisortech” with respect to the method employed in assessing the investor’s so-called “risk tolerance,” particularly the …
Financial psychology is the study and application of psychological theories, methods, and practices to the areas of personal finance and financial services. The field takes into account two areas. First, financial psychology includes how each of us relates to and makes decisions about money. In other words, financial psychology includes what psychologists refer to as “individual differences” in money-related behaviors and decisions. Second, financial psychology covers the client-advisor relationship, that is, the application of psychology …
Few would argue that the relationship between our financial psychology and the decisions we make about money-related matters is weak. Many of us know what the “right” answer is when it comes to our saving, spending, and investing behaviors, but the translation from what we know we should do and what we do can be quite different. In some cases, our unique behaviors or patterns of behaviors are causing stress and strains in other …
If you have ever taken a quiz entitled “How to tell if your boyfriend is cheating on you” or “Answer these five questions to learn to see if you’re a good friend,” then you’ve probably taken something akin to what we call a “Cosmo test.” Your answers to just a few questions will result in a detailed analysis of your personality, along with a lengthy set of advice on improving your life (or a …
“My neighbor is driving me crazy. She always says she’s the most frugal person she knows, but she’s spending every dime on *&#$* at Target. It’s not frugal. It’s stupid.” A friend recently shared this sentiment with me, and it is an excellent example of the fact that some of us aren’t great at evaluating our own personal characteristics. Some of us lack self-awareness when it comes to specific attributes about ourselves. Frugality is …