Why do investors buy high and sell low? 

 Why do investors stay away from deeply discounted investments even though they take advantage of a sale of any kind? 

 Why do investors react to FOMO, or the Fear of Missing Out?

Above are examples of emotion-driven decisions that could work against an investor's success, either by eroding return potential or by introducing excessive risk.   To overcome this, Stifel has developed a proprietary way to help you avoid such investor pitfalls called the Stifel Financial ID.

The Emotional Side of Investing

Behavioral Finance explores how human beings make decisions under uncertainty – exactly the kinds of decisions we all make in investing.  The conclusion is simple: we don't always make rational decisions.  Instead, decision-making is influenced by emotions and approaches that seem logical but in fact are not.  Many wealth and investment managers focus exclusively on risk tolerance as the basis for plans.  To us, that misses important insights into an investor's needs, approach to investing, and philosophy about the management of his wealth.

The Stifel Financial ID

A successful plan satisfies your financial needs and helps you stick with your strategy for the long term.  The Stifel Financial ID helps you build a portfolio so the investments are specifically tailored to your attitudes and decision styles.  Our approach is unique among our clients.  Stifel's Behavioral Finance Capability synthesizes the academic insights from Behavioral Finance and builds practical applications to support you throughout your investment journey.

Getting Started:

• Fill out a simple questionnaire that enables us to create a highly detailed profile of your decision-making preferences and attitudes to risk in a robust manner.
• The Stifel Financial ID measures six key indicators that reveal how individuals think and feel about investing.

Below are a series of materials/videos that explain the importance of Behavioral Finance, the Stifel Financial ID, and a short clip on each of the six dimensions.

Click the titles to view videos.