Investor Behavior: The Psychology of Financial Planning and Investing

Why do investors behave as they do? That is the question posed and answered by the book “Investor Behavior: The Psychology of Financial Planning and Investing,” edited by H. Kent Baker and Victor Ricciardi and published by Wiley Finance.

This 30-chapter book (available from Amazon) covers the major principles of investor psychology and how personality, emotions, financial planning strategies, and the behavioral underpinnings of various trading and investment topics play into how clients make decisions.

Dr. Dave Yeske, CFP^® and Elissa Buie, CFP^® Managing Director and CEO of Yeske Buie, respectively, were part of the dynamic team of academics and experienced practitioners who contributed to the body of knowledge in “Investor Behavior.” Their contribution, “Policy-Based Financial Planning: Decision Rules for a Changing World,” places Policy-Based Financial Planning squarely within the context of behavioral finance and “choice architecture.” They describe the concept as follows:

“Although the field of behavioral finance helps to provide a deeper understanding of the cognitive biases present when individuals make financial decisions, practitioners need not only understanding but also practical tools. Policy-based financial planning is one such tool, offering a framework and approach that allows practitioners to craft decision rules that can keep clients committed to a consistent course of action in a seemingly chaotic and unpredictable world. . . . These comprehensive yet compact decision rules serve as a touchstone for both client and advisor, providing clear guidance in the face of rapidly changing external circumstances. In their ideal form, financial planning policies are both broad enough to encompass virtually any external change and specific enough to return clear answers as to appropriate action.”

Ms. Buie and Dr. Yeske have been writing and speaking on the topic of Policy-Based Financial Planning since 2006, when their article “Policy-Based Financial Planning Provides Touchstone in a Turbulent World,” was published in The Journal of Financial Planning. The Journal also published their most recent collaboration, “Evidence-Based Financial Planning: To Learn. . . Like a CFP^®,” which appeared in the November 2011 issue.