Behaviour & finance programme
Overview
Our Behaviour and Finance Programme investigates pension funds, their characteristics and governance structures, as well as the retirement savings decisions of individuals. We aim to understand governance structures of pension funds, and the underlying behavioural flaws inherent in long-term investment decision-making by individuals.
Our work
Public pension systems are under pressure from demographic shifts, an ageing population, and external factors such as climate change. Internationally, pension funds are under immense pressure, resulting in a gradual shift to increased individual responsibility for retirement-saving. Our goal is to understand the behavioural inclinations that influence investment decisions, and provide guidance on how individuals can overcome these biases.
Agile protection
Agile protection describes flexible insurance which is tailored to individual needs. Building on our Income protection gap project, we recommend steps to develop frameworks for social protection in rapidly changing global and national labour markets.
We are investigating the economic and social drivers behind the need for such frameworks through exploring employers' perspectives on providing flexible protection, and individuals' behavioural tendencies that influence their insurance purchasing decisions.
Income protection gap
The Income protection gap refers to the difference between household earnings and the replacement income available during an unplanned interruption to that salary. What are the behavioural biases that affect an individual when choosing income protection insurance policies? As governments around the world cut back on social protection programmes, there is growing interest in the potential for employer- and household-sponsored schemes to fill this gap.
Our work aims to understand the specific drivers of under-protection, focusing on the shifting balance of financial responsibility from institutions to individuals and households, the role of government and employers, and the behaviours associated with household financial decision-making.
Associates
- Pierre-Louis Choquet
- Andreas Feiner | Arabesque
- Dr Maurizio Fiaschetti | School of Finance and Management, SOAS University of London
- Prof Paul Gerrans | UWA Business School, University of Western Australia
- Dr Ashby Monk | Global Projects Center, Stanford University
- Dr Michael Viehs | Hermes Investments
- Prof Noel Whiteside | Dept of Sociology, University of Warwick