As tech revolutionizes the transactional side of financial planning, the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning is turning to psychology to keep financial advisors relevant by teaming up with the Aresty Institute of Executive Education at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania to design a business course centered on the psychology of the client.
The course includes an understanding of the biases, behaviors and perceptions that influence a client’s financial goals.
“The big questions for today’s financial advisors are how do you understand the potential to take risks? How do you understand the client personality as it relates to outcomes and wellness? How do you best interact with them? How do you have a client for life and deliver the best value?” said Christopher Geczy, the academic director of the Wharton Wealth Management Initiative, in a statement.
The course will be offered in two three-day modules at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia next spring, and in San Francisco next August.
Geczy and Charles Chaffin, the director of academic initiatives at the CFP Board, co-direct the course and have developed the course from the book, “Client Psychology,” which Chaffin edited and is the lead author.
“This program is based upon sound theory of multiple academic disciplines and then dives into the so-what of how this theory impacts financial planning practice,” said Chaffin.