Meir Statman on What Investors Really Want: Lessons from Behavioral Finance (Video)

It is impossible to separate the utilitarian, expressive, and emotional benefits of investing, according to Meir Statman, a well-known expert of behavioral finance — and when we ignore the expressive and emotional benefits, we lose useful insights into what investors really want.

Statman, the Glenn Klimek Professor of Finance at Santa Clara University and a visiting professor at Tilburg University, in the Netherlands, spoke to an attentive audience of investment professionals at a sold-out continuing education event organized by the CFA Society of the UK in London last week. Much of Statman's talk drew from his recent book, What Investors Really Want: Know What Drives Investor Behavior and Make Smarter Financial Decisions, as well as his award-winning research.

Breakdown of the Meir Statman's presentation:

• Problems with utilitarian rationality, and explanation of expressive and emotional benefits — 00:01 to 15:22
• Overview of difference between standard finance; three key lessons for investors; benefits of diversification; and problems with market timing — 15:23 to 29:41
• Behavioural mistakes, cognitive errors of investors — 29:42 to 44:03
• Question and answer session — 44:04 to end

Please note that the content of this site should not be construed as investment advice, nor do the opinions expressed necessarily reflect the views of CFA Institute.