Set your reminders for 2:00pm on Wednesday 22nd of May for the next AdviserHangout. My guest this time is Greg B Davies, Head of Behavioural and Quantitative Investment Philosophy at BarclaysWealth.

Arguably, one of the hottest topics in financial services these days is the subject of behavioural investing. Research upon research tell us that it accounts for the about 3%pa (typically in the return forgone by staying in cash rather than investing, cost and under-performance as a result of excessive trading and market-timing) although it could be significantly more for some investors. But is it any more than that – theory? What is the practical application, particularly financial planners?

In this session, I’ll be talking to Greg about how (if?) planners can use behavioural investing ideas in their work with clients.

Much of the work in this space tend to focus on ‘investors’’ biases and heuristics but is there any evidence that professionals, specifically advisers don’t make the same mistakes that investors do? And since just being aware of the biases don’t necessarily help us avoid them, what can planners actually do about it?

Barclays recently published a White- Paper titled Overcoming The Cost of Being Human: (or, The pursuit of anxiety-adjusted returns), which sets out the framework for embedding behavioural finance into its investment management and advice process. What are the key lessons for financial planners from this paper?

The team at Barclays has developed what they call ‘Financial Personality Assessment™ (FPA)’ but how is this different from the standard risk tolerance tests, widely used by advisers?

A key aspect of the framework developed by the team is the interventions; a list of actions aimed at providing emotional insurance to help clients overcome/manage their anxiety about investing, for instance the use of structured products or downside defence. Some might argue that interventions are ‘costly’ and this may come across as using the behavioural/emotional appeal of a ‘guarantee’ to push expensive and sometimes opaque products on clients? Is behavioural finance a two-edged sword i.e. can it be used deliberately to get clients to act against their own best interest?

What are the key behavioural investing practices that planners can use in their work with clients immediately?  Today!

So join Greg and I as we slice and dice this very important subject. If you have any questions, just tweet me or drop them in the comment box below.

How To Join The Hangout

Connect with me on  my Google+ profile or watch via  AdviserHangout YouTube Channel or just follow me on Twitter @AbrahamOnMoney for the link to watch the On Air broadcast.

AdviserHangout is a live session on G+Hangout where I talk to thought leaders in the industry on a range of  hot topics and issues that are relevant to advisers.  You can  see videos of previous sessions here

Abraham Okusanya

Director

Abraham is the founder of FinalytiQ, a research consultancy for platforms, asset managers, and advisory firms. Recognised as one of the country’s leading experts in retirement income, platforms and investment propositions, Abraham has authored several papers on these subjects and delivered talks to the Personal Finance Society, The FCA and several conferences across the country.

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