Behavioural science, biases and bubbles

Tuesday 16 May 2023 | 18:30 - 20:30 | Evening Event

“The emotional tail wags the rational dog.”
(Jonathan Haidt)

We human beings are not always as rational or logical as traditional economic models might suggest. We are often influenced by hard-wired biases and heuristics; put another way, we make mental shortcuts.

Behavioural science shines a light on such mental shortcuts and the psychology of decision-making, both individually and as part of a group or crowd. In the investment world, for example, behavioural finance seeks to understand how markets or individual securities can be distorted or inefficient due to the influential biases of its participants.

Paul Craven, a highly regarded industry speaker and consultant in the field of behavioural science will focus on three key areas:

• How the human brain is hardwired, for perfectly good evolutionary reasons, to use ‘System 1’ thinking (fast, intuitive, unconscious) in preference to ‘System 2’ thinking (slow, cognitive, conscious), sometimes leading to biases and irrationality.
• Examples, in all aspects of our lives, including long-term investment, of the 150+ biases and mental short cuts – which have frequently led to bubbles in financial markets.
• What can we do about our biases? And equally importantly, how can we turn them to our advantage in our business, investment and even our personal lives?

This talk is designed to help attendees appreciate the benefits of behavioural science in order to:

• make better decisions, individually and as part of groups.
• challenge their unconscious assumptions.
• enhance their business and investment skills.

“We don't have any new tricks. We just know the old tricks better.”
(Warren Buffett)

Timings

Registration: 18:00

Event: 18:30 - 19:30

Networking: 19:30 - 20:30

Speaker

Paul Craven is the founder of Paul Craven Partners Ltd., which provides workshops and training in investment, sales psychology, and cognitive diversity. Paul's expertise can be found in his TEDx talks and through his coaching and consulting. Paul defines behavioural science as "understanding how real people make real decisions in the real world." 

With more than 30 years of experience in the asset management industry, Paul has held various roles in portfolio management and business development. He was previously head of UK Institutional Business at Schroders and PIMCO, and head of European business at GSAM. Since 2014, he has served as an adviser to the investment committees of Akzo Nobel and formerly the British Steel pension schemes.

Paul also works with Behaviour Lab, a firm dedicated to using analytics and behavioural science to help fund managers improve their investment performance through behavioural techniques.

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