About the contributors -- Introduction / Charles R. Chaffin, Ed.D, CFP Board Center for Financial Planning -- Client psychology -- Behavioral finance -- Behavioral finance -- Heuristics and biases -- Prospect theory -- The role of mental accounting in household spending and investing decisions...

Financial risk tolerance is an important concept that helps financial planners recommend financial products to their clients. As the baby boomer generation approaches retirement, research to determine how these individuals perceive financial risk tolerance has grown exponentially. The present...

Close to 30 percent of the U.S. population experiences at least one mental or substance abuse disorder each year. Given the prevalence of mental health issues, this paper analyzes the role of mental health and cognitive functioning in household portfolio choice decisions. Generally, we find that...

This study analyzes the role that overconfidence plays in investor trading behavior. Using a unique measure of confidence (signature size) with an experimental economics approach, we find that those who are more confident bid significantly higher for assets in simulated trading exercises. This...

Within the area of finance, most basic theoretical models do not fully describe true household investment decision-making behavior. This is due in large part to the fact that most traditional finance models are based on the assumptions that financial markets operate without frictions and that...

This paper finds households with children and elderly dependents, the "Sandwich Generation," significantly reduce both college savings and stockholding. Having any elderly dependents decreases the probability of both stockholding and college savings by twice as much as poor personal health....