ECON X499.19 - The Psychology of Wealth

In this course we will introduce key concepts from behavioral economics and apply them to strategic decision-making within wealth management. Students will review the most prevalent psychological barriers to optimal decision-making across the full breadth of the financial planning process, which includes investment selection, income strategies, estate planning, avoiding taxes, perceiving risk, and budgeting. Once identified, students will learn how to solve these common barriers to decision-making. Finally, students will apply concepts learned beyond the financial realm and extend them into daily living: family matters, health choices, career decisions, intellectual pursuits, and more.

Learner Outcomes

• Develop strategies to overcome psychological biases, heuristics, and known decision-making tendencies within behavioral economics.

• Be able to explain how behavioral economics applies to financial planning and wealth management.

• Extrapolate ideas to broader non-financial decisions such as health care, public policy, career choices, intellectual pursuits, and more.

• Analyze common psychological factors that prevent everyday investors from building wealth.

• Identify core principles from behavioral economics, connect them to critical financial decisions, and learn how to solve them.

• Understand the breadth of the wealth management domain.