Client Psychology


Book Description

A Client-Centered approach to Financial Planning Practice built by Research for Practitioners The second in the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning Series, Client Psychology explores the biases, behaviors, and perceptions that impact client decision-making and overall financial well-being. This book, written for practitioners, researchers, and educators, outlines the theory behind many of these areas while also explicitly stating how these related areas directly impact financial planning practice. Additionally, some chapters build an argument based solely upon theory while others will have exclusively practical applications. Defines an entirely new area of focus within financial planning practice and research: Client Psychology Serves as the essential reference for financial planners on client psychology Builds upon and expands the body of knowledge for financial planning Provides insight regarding the factors that impact client financial decision-making from a multidisciplinary approach If you’re a CFP® professional, researcher, financial advisor, or student pursuing a career in financial planning or financial services, this book deserves a prominent spot on your professional bookshelf.




Investor Behavior


Book Description

WINNER, Business: Personal Finance/Investing, 2015 USA Best Book Awards FINALIST, Business: Reference, 2015 USA Best Book Awards Investor Behavior provides readers with a comprehensive understanding and the latest research in the area of behavioral finance and investor decision making. Blending contributions from noted academics and experienced practitioners, this 30-chapter book will provide investment professionals with insights on how to understand and manage client behavior; a framework for interpreting financial market activity; and an in-depth understanding of this important new field of investment research. The book should also be of interest to academics, investors, and students. The book will cover the major principles of investor psychology, including heuristics, bounded rationality, regret theory, mental accounting, framing, prospect theory, and loss aversion. Specific sections of the book will delve into the role of personality traits, financial therapy, retirement planning, financial coaching, and emotions in investment decisions. Other topics covered include risk perception and tolerance, asset allocation decisions under inertia and inattention bias; evidenced based financial planning, motivation and satisfaction, behavioral investment management, and neurofinance. Contributions will delve into the behavioral underpinnings of various trading and investment topics including trader psychology, stock momentum, earnings surprises, and anomalies. The final chapters of the book examine new research on socially responsible investing, mutual funds, and real estate investing from a behavioral perspective. Empirical evidence and current literature about each type of investment issue are featured. Cited research studies are presented in a straightforward manner focusing on the comprehension of study findings, rather than on the details of mathematical frameworks.




Financial Therapy


Book Description

Money-related stress dates as far back as concepts of money itself. Formerly it may have waxed and waned in tune with the economy, but today more individuals are experiencing financial mental anguish and self-destructive behavior regardless of bull or bear markets, recessions or boom periods. From a fringe area of psychology, financial therapy has emerged to meet increasingly salient concerns. Financial Therapy is the first full-length guide to the field, bridging theory, practical methods, and a growing cross-disciplinary evidence base to create a framework for improving this crucial aspect of clients' lives. Its contributors identify money-based disorders such as compulsive buying, financial hoarding, and workaholism, and analyze typical early experiences and the resulting mental constructs ("money scripts") that drive toxic relationships with money. Clearly relating financial stability to larger therapeutic goals, therapists from varied perspectives offer practical tools for assessment and intervention, advise on cultural and ethical considerations, and provide instructive case studies. A diverse palette of research-based and practice-based models meets monetary mental health issues with well-known treatment approaches, among them: Cognitive-behavioral and solution-focused therapies. Collaborative relationship models. Experiential approaches. Psychodynamic financial therapy. Feminist and humanistic approaches. Stages of change and motivational interviewing in financial therapy. A text that serves to introduce and define the field as well as plan for its future, Financial Therapy is an important investment for professionals in psychotherapy and counseling, family therapy, financial planning, and social policy.




The Psychology of Money


Book Description

Doing well with money isn’t necessarily about what you know. It’s about how you behave. And behavior is hard to teach, even to really smart people. Money—investing, personal finance, and business decisions—is typically taught as a math-based field, where data and formulas tell us exactly what to do. But in the real world people don’t make financial decisions on a spreadsheet. They make them at the dinner table, or in a meeting room, where personal history, your own unique view of the world, ego, pride, marketing, and odd incentives are scrambled together. In The Psychology of Money, award-winning author Morgan Housel shares 19 short stories exploring the strange ways people think about money and teaches you how to make better sense of one of life’s most important topics.




CFP Board Financial Planning Competency Handbook


Book Description

The official CFP guide for career excellence CFP Board Financial Planning Competency Handbook is the essential reference for those at any stage of CFP certification and a one-stop resource for practitioners looking to better serve their clients. This fully updated second edition includes brand new content on connections diagrams, new case studies, and new instructional videos, and a completely new section devoted to the interdisciplinary nature of financial planning. You'll gain insights from diverse fields like psychology, behavioral finance, communication, and marriage and family therapy to help you better connect with and guide your clients, alongside the detailed financial knowledge you need to perform to the highest expectations as a financial planner. The only official CFP Board handbook on the market, this book contains over ninety chapters that are essential for practitioners, students, and faculty. Whether a practitioner, student, or faculty member, this guide is the invaluable reference you need at your fingertips. Comprehensive, clear, and detailed, this handbook forms the foundation of the smart financial planner's library. Each jurisdiction has its own laws and regulations surrounding financial planning, but the information in this book represents the core body of knowledge the profession demands no matter where you practice. CFP Board Financial Planning Competency Handbook guides you from student to practitioner and far beyond, with the information you need when you need it.




The Geometry of Wealth


Book Description

HOW DOES MONEY HELP IN CREATING A HAPPY LIFE? In The Geometry of Wealth, behavioral finance expert Brian Portnoy delivers an inspired answer based on the idea that wealth, truly defined, is funded contentment. It is the ability to underwrite a meaningful life. This stands in stark contrast to angling to become rich, which is usually an unsatisfying treadmill. At the heart of this groundbreaking perspective, Portnoy takes readers on a journey toward wealth, informed by disciplines ranging from ancient history to modern neuroscience. He contends that tackling the big questions about a joyful life and tending to financial decisions are complementary, not separate, tasks. These big questions include: • How is the human brain wired for two distinct experiences of happiness? And why can money “buy” one but not the other? • Why is being market savvy among the least important aspects of creating wealth but self-awareness among the most? • Can we strike a balance between pushing for more and being content with enough? This journey memorably contours along three basic shapes: A circle, triangle, and square help us visualize how we adapt to evolving circumstances, set clear priorities, and find empowerment in simplicity. In this accessible and entertaining book, Portnoy reveals that true wealth is achievable for many—including those who despair it is out of reach—but only in the context of a life in which purpose and practice are thoughtfully calibrated.




Psychology of Financial Planning


Book Description

Psychology of Financial Planning: The Practitioner’s Guide to Money and Behavior In PSYCHOLOGY OF FINANCIAL PLANNING: The Practitioner’s Guide to Money and Behavior, distinguished authors Drs. Brad Klontz, CFP®, Charles Chaffin, and Ted Klontz deliver a comprehensive overview of the psychological factors that impact the financial planning client. Designed for both professional and academic audiences, PSYCHOLOGY OF FINANCIAL PLANNING is written for those with 30 years in practice as well as those just beginning their journey. With a focus on how psychology can be applied to real-world financial planning scenarios, PSYCHOLOGY OF FINANCIAL PLANNING provides a much-needed toolbox for practicing financial planners who know that understanding their client’s psychology is critical to their ability to be effective. The PSYCHOLOGY OF FINANCIAL PLANNING is also a much-needed resource for academic institutions who now need to educate their students in the CFP Board’s newest category of learning objectives: psychology of financial planning. Topics include: Why we are bad with money Client and planner attitudes, values, & biases Financial flashpoints, money scripts, and financial behaviors Behavioral finance Sources of money conflict Principles of counseling Multicultural competence in financial planning General principles of effective communication Helping clients navigate crisis events Assessment in financial planning Ethical considerations in the psychology of financial planning Getting clients to take action Integrating financial psychology into the financial planning process PSYCHOLOGY OF FINANCIAL PLANNING goes beyond just theory to show how practitioners can use psychology to better serve their clients. The accompanying workbook provides exercises, scripts, and workshop activities for firms and practitioners who are dedicated to engaging and implementing the content in meaningful ways.




Psychology of Financial Planning


Book Description

Psychology of Financial Planning: The Practitioner’s Guide to Money and Behavior In PSYCHOLOGY OF FINANCIAL PLANNING: The Practitioner’s Guide to Money and Behavior, distinguished authors Drs. Brad Klontz, CFP®, Charles Chaffin, and Ted Klontz deliver a comprehensive overview of the psychological factors that impact the financial planning client. Designed for both professional and academic audiences, PSYCHOLOGY OF FINANCIAL PLANNING is written for those with 30 years in practice as well as those just beginning their journey. With a focus on how psychology can be applied to real-world financial planning scenarios, PSYCHOLOGY OF FINANCIAL PLANNING provides a much-needed toolbox for practicing financial planners who know that understanding their client’s psychology is critical to their ability to be effective. The PSYCHOLOGY OF FINANCIAL PLANNING is also a much-needed resource for academic institutions who now need to educate their students in the CFP Board’s newest category of learning objectives: psychology of financial planning. Topics include: Why we are bad with money Client and planner attitudes, values, & biases Financial flashpoints, money scripts, and financial behaviors Behavioral finance Sources of money conflict Principles of counseling Multicultural competence in financial planning General principles of effective communication Helping clients navigate crisis events Assessment in financial planning Ethical considerations in the psychology of financial planning Getting clients to take action Integrating financial psychology into the financial planning process PSYCHOLOGY OF FINANCIAL PLANNING goes beyond just theory to show how practitioners can use psychology to better serve their clients. The accompanying workbook provides exercises, scripts, and workshop activities for firms and practitioners who are dedicated to engaging and implementing the content in meaningful ways.




Money Mammoth


Book Description

A look at the psychological barriers to financial success and how to create a better financial future When it comes to our relationship with money, we are in the Stone Age. Despite the relentless barrage of information and warnings from financial experts, the average American is in terrible financial shape. It turns out that human beings are just not wired to do the right things around money—such as saving and not overspending. That’s why financial success is so difficult to attain. When it comes to our financial instincts, we are no more evolved than our ancestors who hunted the Woolly Mammoth 400,000 years ago. Recent findings from the field of financial psychology could help the many Americans who know what they need to do but just can’t seem to make it happen. If you fall into this category, consider Money Mammoth: Evolve Your Money Mindset and Avoid Financial Extinction. This book looks at financial well-being from a psychological and evolutionary perspective. It reveals the obstacles that prevent people from taking their first critical steps towards financial wellness. It examines how our instincts and beliefs about money influence our financial behaviors. It explores money beliefs, how they develop, and how they drive our money behaviors As the world’s leading experts in financial psychology, authors Dr. Brad Klontz, Dr. Ed Horwitz, and Dr. Ted Klontz can help you: Discover how the experience of your ancestors are impacting your finances Understand how your friends, family members, and tribe may be holding you back Overcome mental roadblocks to wealth and success Harness the power of your emotional brain to transform your relationship with money Build confidence in your ability to take control of your financial future In Money Mammoth, the authors reveal the secrets to harnessing the power of your psychology to reach your financial goals.




The Ultimate Financial Plan


Book Description

How to build a financial plan that really blends into your life The latest volume in the bestselling Ultimate series, Jim Stovall and Tim Maurer's The Ultimate Financial Plan: Balancing Your Money and Life is a one-stop, comprehensive, personal financial planning book exploring the intersection of money and life. The Ultimate Financial Plan examines the connection between actions, thoughts, and feelings when it comes to all things financial. The key to getting the most out of your wealth, the authors argue, is certainly found in the wise utilization of tools, like budgets, bank accounts, 401(k)s, IRAs, Roth IRAs, education savings plans, and real estate, as well as home, auto, business, health, disability, and long term care insurance, but even more so in the contentment found in balancing money's influence in our lives with personal values and goals. An insider's look into the recently humbled "Big 3"—the banks, brokerage firms, and insurance companies—and the inner workings that often set their proprietary goals and objectives above all A critical examination of the role of various financial sales people, advisors, planners, and consultants A guide to navigating Economic Bias—a conflict of interest involving money—and how it affects every financial decision we make The Ultimate Financial Plan is the application of the resources at your disposal for the purpose of living your life to the fullest, and this book will show you the quickest route to getting started on the path to ultimate success.