This was our second year attending the Morningstar Investment Conference in Chicago, which brings together some of the major thought leaders in our industry. Listed below are a few of the conference’s outstanding speakers:
- Larry Fink, CEO of Blackrock
- Jack Bogle, founder of Vanguard
- Michael Lewis, author of the The Big Short and Moneyball
In addition, this year there was a focus on the changing technological landscape in our industry.
For example, in the area of financial planning, we are now not only able to offer the client a complete picture of their financial life but we’re also able to stress test the financial plan. In addition, real-time account aggregation allows adjustments and alternative scenarios to be modeled in a few clicks.
There are great strides being made in the area of behavioral finance. If you are not familiar with behavioral finance, Investopedia defines it as follows:
Behavioral finance is a relatively new field that seeks to combine behavioral and cognitive psychological theory with conventional economics and finance to provide explanations for why people make irrational financial decisions.
The science behind behavioral finance is now being used for new tests constructed to try to get to the real risk tolerance of an investor. We are really excited about this. In thirty years of practice, I have witnessed people identify themselves as risk averse during bear markets and risk tolerant during bull markets. Having a tool that helps clients truly understand their risk profile is beneficial for the long term construction of the portfolio.
In summary, the new technological advances are improving our client’s experience as we embrace them in our practice. We look forward to improving our practice through technology as new tools become available.
