Behavioural Economics Series With John Beshears From Harvard Business School (Episode 1 Of 4)

The field of Behavioural Economics is so important because, when it comes to investing and managing our money, our emotions have the ability to lead us astray - so much so we could become our own worst enemies. Of course, decisions like a portfolios' asset allocation are crucially important in investing, but ultimately decisions like these are wasted if investors make irrational decisions at the worst possible time. The reality is, biases affect our decisions and we need to be aware of them so they're not in control. I completed a course on behavioural economics earlier this year at Harvard Business School to learn more about the processes we all use to make financial decisions. During the program I was fortunate to learn from some of the best professors in the world on the topic of Behavioural Economics, and I found it so interesting that I thought, why not have a chat with them on the Richards Report? This episode is part one of a four part series that I've put together. I speak with John Beshears, an Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit. Before joining HBS, he was an assistant professor of finance at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. His recent work includes studying participation in retirement savings plans, household investment decisions, and health-care choices. Topics covered include; Why do we have biases? The foundations of system 1 and system 2 thinking Loss aversion Status quo bias Heuristics and availability bias This podcast is brought to you by Six Park, Australia's leading online investment manager. Visit www.sixpark.com.au