For someone steeped in an idealistic or classical economics view of the world, the question of what drives investment actions is easy – it should be logic, rationality and facts.

In fact, even reputed investment product providers appear to adhere to this view, going by a quick drive through of their websites to non-clients.

Could they be wrong?

Continue reading “Four Simple Drivers of Investing – an Unscientific Study” →

Given the age and importance of the investing industry, and the constant innovation it is exposed to via fin-tech, one would expect some rethink to have occurred in the basic value proposition of the core offering itself: the investment product.

Yet, my initial search has not revealed any exciting or even mildly interesting value propositions beyond the tired “peace of mind” or “be secure in your retirement” pitches. Granted, there are quite a few approaches and ventures that are looking to revolutionize the how of investing, but few seem to be taking a look at the core “what”.

Continue reading “A Fresh Look at Investing Value Propositions for Women” →

How do you find out the real truth of what your customers or prospects want, like and hate? How do you make sure that they aren’t misleading themselves or you, regardless of intention, about what their true behavior in the market will look like, when you ask them?

Watching, or asking about behavior in any kind of structured and artificial settings versus watching them when they think no one is looking is akin to watching the behavior of lions in the zoo versus on a safari in the Serengeti – the behavior of real lions “in the wild” may look nothing like what you see in the zoo.

And if you’re looking to address the lions in the wild, you’d be poorly served designing for lions you see in the zoo.

Continue reading “A Safari in the Finance Jungle” →