Behavioral finance has shown that all people, even financial experts, are prone to making irrational and suboptimal financial decisions. It also explores how people have wants that extend far beyond traditional finances' assumption of wanting the highest return at the lowest risk. We are not perfectly rational economic robots; we are easily driven by many wants and emotions while working with limited time, knowledge, and energy.

This course explores many of the thinking errors and biases exhibited by all people, even the experts. You'll be able to identify the nonfinancial wants that drive the financial decisions of your clients. We'll then identify ways to improve financial decision-making in the contexts of personal financial planning and business financial management.

You'll learn from an author that teaches these concepts to MBA students at a university as well as to business advisors and staff. He is a CPA that's been a CFO of multiple companies. Rob also has a master's degree in personal financial planning and a graduate certificate in financial therapy. He served as program manager for a group of investment advisors.

This course leads you from foundational finance concepts to practical applications in both personal finance and business finance.

Course Key Concepts: Finance, Behavioral Finance, Economics, Personal Financial Planning, Personal Finance, Business Finance, Business Financial Management, Business Management, Business Planning, Pricing.

Note:This course is also available in Text Based format. https://www.illumeo.com/courses/behavioral-finance-introduction-insights-text-based-course

Learning Objectives
  • Recognize common behavioral finance biases and heuristics.
  • Identify ways to reduce thinking errors caused by biases and heuristics.
  • Discover and recall differences between traditional finance and behavioral finance.
  • Identify negative financial impacts of finance biases and heuristics.
Last updated/reviewed: March 28, 2024
63 Reviews (240 ratings)

Reviews

5
Member's Profile
Of the many, many courses I have taken on the Illumeo platform, this was definitely one of the best and most insightful. I have always found elements of "behavioral finance" to be fascinating and powerful in planning, strategy, and business performance. Mr. Stephens has bundled the leading theories and presented them as a unified new "dimension" for planners and leaders to factor in. He has done so in a manner that CFO's and other business leaders will undoubtedly find easy to digest, replete with useful examples. The consideration of these concepts will undoubtedly add value via improvement decision-making and more enlightened risk assessments. Thank you for such a quality contribution to the Illumeo portfolio!!

5
Member's Profile
Wow! This is an important course suitable for Middle Market and publicly traded company managements, financial advisors and families wrestling with issues of savings and the hidden elements of decision making that impact business and personal finance. The complexity of the subject is important to understand in order to bring the lessons herein to life in your business or in conversations with your advisors. The details covered and the excellent narration of the materials is superb. I intend to revisit this course again within the next few months in order to continually refresh my understanding of Behavioral Finance. David Beauregard

5
Member's Profile
This is an excellent course for someone desiring to make prudent choices in almost every major financial arena in life especially when it comes to investing and retirement. In addition, this lecture does a great job reminding the realities of human nature and what we are naturally proned to subconsciously in our day-to-day financial decision-making tasks.

5
Anonymous Author
This was a great course which provides an introduction to different ways of thinking about how financial decisions are made and how to think differently about one's own investment and financial decisions. The influential thinkers and economists cited by the presenter provide a great jumping-off point to explore behavioral finance theory further.

5
Member's Profile
I found this course to be very unique and engaging among other CPE materials on this site. As financial managers, we are slow to consider our personal limitations and inherent biases and challenge our views, and this course presented very novel ways for me to strengthen my decision making both as a professional and family financial manager.

5
Member's Profile
This was the best CPE class I've taken in a decade. It really taught me how to re-evaluate my thought process on many things, not just investment related. The knowledge received from this class is something I truly believe will provide me with a competitive advantage in my profession and in dealing with people on a day-to-day basis.

5
Anonymous Author
I found this to be a very interesting module. The concepts were new to me but made a great deal of sense. I think applying behavioral finance to real-world situations would benefit managers in any business environment. The presenter did a really good job of making it more than just a vague concept and he was easy to listen to.

5
Member's Profile
Great overview of the various types of cognitive dissonance and biases that we humans fall into. If you've taken a behavioral psychology course or enrolled in the CFA program, this material may not be new to you (e.g. Ariely, Kahneman, Sen...if you recognize these names, you do not need to take this course.)

5
Anonymous Author
This course was amazing. It definitely helps one think about non-traditional ideas and what could be holding one back. I thoroughly enjoyed the course, it was presented in a logical and enjoyable way. I would definitely highly recommend this to course to others.

5
Anonymous Author
There is a lot of content in this course. Some ideas are only quickly reviewed, however, it is such a good starting place if you want to dive deeper on any of the topics. I know I will be returning to the videos and materials for review in the future.

5
Anonymous Author
This was a great course with rich content and it would be helpful for anyone looking to better understand the rationale behind a lot of financial decisions. It gives you a glimpse into the minds of finance managers and CEOs, and management in general.

5
Member's Profile
Great course, with a lot of interesting concepts. I really enjoyed the presentation style and felt like the time was appropriate. I did notice the instructor repeated concepts but honestly this helped me retain the main sentiment of the section.

5
Member's Profile
Fascinating topic delivered in a very effective way. It was a lot of information, and the biases were hard to keep straight, but the course is a good starting point for future CPE courses. the instructor was engaging. Highly recommend.

5
Anonymous Author
Really like this presenter. Nice overview of behavioral finance. Course was a nice foil to all the technical offerings we normally consume - gives a nod to all the unseen human factors that influence financial decision making.

5
Anonymous Author
This was one of the best courses on ILLUMEO. All of the things discussed are things individual investors should take into account with regards to their own psychology when making investment choices.

5
Member's Profile
This was a really interesting course on behavioral finance. I especially enjoyed learning about this "new" topic in way that related to a lot of "older" concepts I already knew.

5
Member's Profile
This is the best Behavioral Finance Course I've taken. The instructor was clear, concise, funny and used real world applications. I look forward to taking more of his courses.

5
Member's Profile
Very interesting and useful info! I found the class easy to listen to and enjoy and feel like I really got some different perspective and new information out it.

5
Anonymous Author
The course was interesting, and the instructor did a great job of presenting. I particularly appreciated the Key Takeaways section at the end of the presentation.

5
Member's Profile
Very well explained course material; no special previous understanding of finance and accounting matters is needed to learn many valuable ideas from this course.

5
Anonymous Author
Thank you very much Thank you very much Thank you very much Thank you very muchThank you very muchThank you very muchThank you very muchThank you very much

5
Anonymous Author
This course is very interesting and unique. I enjoyed the deep dive into several biases and how they impact decisions, and how to try to overcome them.

4
Anonymous Author
This course was interesting and a bit different. Many valuable information for people starting to understand financial planning and finance tendencies.

5
Anonymous Author
This was a very informative course. I think he did a great job of covering the topic as well as providing additional materials available for review

5
Member's Profile
Wow...a masterful overview of behavioral economics condensed down to 5 hours. It seemed like a semester worth of info in just about a day.

5
Anonymous Author
Very interesting material and eye opening. we tend to take things for granted but this material helps us understand better behaviors.

5
Anonymous Author
There are a lot of information in the course to help move a person or company from traditional to behavioral financial thinking.

3
Member's Profile
The pace of the instruction was too fast causing the need for frequent pausing and replaying of the video. This was cumbersome.

4
Anonymous Author
This is a great course. I also appreciate the longer 5 CPE credit format. It's a lot of content, but very well thought out!

5
Anonymous Author
A great course to help understand how people think when it comes to finances and how to overcome certain bad habits/beliefs.

5
Anonymous Author
I thought this was an interesting and well presented course. The content is very valuable to improving business decisions.

5
Member's Profile
I liked the variety of topics covered in this course. It covers a lot about the psychology of making financial decisions.

5
Anonymous Author
I found this course very interesting. I like understanding the "whys" of actions and how it can affect outcomes.

5
Anonymous Author
I really enjoyed this course. Behavioral finance is a very interesting topic and thought it was presented well.

5
Anonymous Author
A very interesting broad overview of behavioral finance. Made me interested in learning more on the subject.

5
Anonymous Author
Being a student of finance and psychology I found this course intuitive and refreshing. Very interesting.

4
Anonymous Author
A lot of really interesting information on how people think about their finances and financial decisions.

5
Anonymous Author
Awesome course! Very thorough and includes up-to-date research ideas in the field of behavior economics

5
Anonymous Author
Excellent course. Enjoyed examples. Presenter knew the material well. Lots of valuable information.

5
Member's Profile
Liked the slides and how the information was organized. Questions were clear and concise

4
Anonymous Author
An introduction to a few new concepts and ideas. Good information and engaging topics.

5
Member's Profile
Very good comprehensive course to help understand client and colleague mindset.

5
Member's Profile
I really appreciated the in-depth look at the types of biases and heuristics.

5
Member's Profile
The class was interesting and broken into bit sized chunks. Would recommend.

5
Anonymous Author
Helpful and interesting course on Behavioral Finance with relevant examples.

5
Anonymous Author
Great course, clear and concise, would recommend others to take this course

5
Anonymous Author
Great course! was very intriguing to understand human economic behavior.

5
Anonymous Author
Great course on a good topic that has a lot of real life applications.

5
Anonymous Author
Educational for personal and business applications. Thought provoking.

5
Anonymous Author
Great course offering a new perspective to me. and the exam was fair.

5
Anonymous Author
This is a top-notch course on Behavioral Finance. I highly recommend!

5
Anonymous Author
really fun course detailing the behavior that goes along with money

5
Anonymous Author
This course presents the information in a cler and concise manner.

5
Anonymous Author
Learned a lot about behavioral finance. It was very comprehensive

5
Anonymous Author
Interesting course that makes you think differently about biases

5
Member's Profile
excellent thought provoking course. nice work. great questions

5
Member's Profile
Behavioral Finance: Introduction and Insights - great course!

5
Anonymous Author
Lots of different ideas and applicable examples. Very broad

5
Anonymous Author
Great overview, and teacher was very engaging to listen to.

5
Anonymous Author
This was a great course. I would definitely recommend it.

5
Anonymous Author
Excellent amount of knowledge for an unusual study area

5
Anonymous Author
Great course for accountant looking to grow in finance.

5
Anonymous Author
One of the best courses I've taken so far on Illumeo

Prerequisites
Course Complexity: Foundational

No advanced preparation or prerequisites are required for this course.

Education Provider Information
Company: Illumeo, Inc., 75 East Santa Clara St., Suite 1215, San Jose, CA 95113
Contact: For more information regarding this course, including complaint and cancellation policies, please contact our offices at (408) 400- 3993 or send an e-mail to .
Instructor for this course
Course Syllabus
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
  Introduction to Behavioral Finance3:26
The Emergence of Behavioral Finance
  Some Basics on Traditional Economics3:40
  The Emergence of Behavioral Finance10:38
  REVIEW QUESTIONS quiz
How We Think
  How We Think4:52
  Prospect Theory9:30
  Framing10:08
  REVIEW QUESTIONS quiz
Biases and Heuristics
  What are Biases and Heuristics1:58
  Overconfidence6:02
  Confirmation Bias, Hindsight Bias, and Sunk Costs5:54
  Self-Attribution and Excessive Optimism5:03
  The Endowment Effect, Omission Bias, and Status Quo Bias6:18
  Familiarity Bias and In-Group Bias4:16
  REVIEW QUESTIONS quiz
  Mental Accounting4:50
  Fairness8:02
  Anchoring and Adjustment4:34
  Disposition Effect3:12
  Representativeness and Availability Bias9:38
  Emotions, Mood, and Affect6:18
  Market Observations and Anomalies8:50
  REVIEW QUESTIONS quiz
Some Applications
  Personal Financial Decisions - Investor Wants6:50
  Personal Financial Decisions - Behavioral Life-Cycle Planning8:51
  Personal Financial Decisions - Correcting Errors3:58
  Business Financial Decisions - Overview8:10
  Business Financial Decisions - Planning and Projects5:09
  Application: Retirement Planning and Savings8:06
  Application: Pricing5:00
KEY TAKEAWAYS
  Key Takeaways5:48
  REVIEW QUESTIONS quiz
CONTINUOUS PLAY
  Behavioral Finance2:45:21
SUPPORTING MATERIAL
  Slides: Behavioral Finance: Introduction and InsightsPDF
  Behavioral Finance: Introduction and Insights Glossary/IndexPDF
REVIEW AND TEST
 FINAL EXAMexam