The guide to behavioural biases and how they impact financial decisions

Each day we make thousands of decisions. Some don’t have much impact - such as would you like marmalade or marmite on your toast, or would you prefer ‘white sliced’ or sourdough?

However, some decisions do matter and make a serious difference if they don’t turn out as we hoped. Financial decisions fall firmly in this category; important decisions that can have a long-lasting impact on ourselves and our families if we get it wrong.

Let’s face it, money is an emotive and personal subject for most of us. It touches on fundamental aspects of our lives, from security and status to our values and family dynamics. So it triggers feelings in us that can influence the decisions we make.

Additionally, the way our brains have evolved over millions of years also has an impact. We process information in our fast-paced 21st-century world in a way that can trick us into thinking we’re being thorough when, in fact, we’re taking dozens of unconscious short-cuts to get the decisions off our plate.

This process of unconscious short-cuts or ‘rules of thumb’ that we take, is known by psychologists as heuristics. They are the starting point for understanding how we form and make all decisions.

Our free, 12-page essential guide to behavioural biases talks you through what behavioural biases are, the different types, how they impact financial decisions, and how we can reduce the impact of them.

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