Book Review: A Wealth of Well-Being

A Wealth of Well-Being: A Holistic Approach to Behavioral Finance. 2024. Meir Statman. John Wiley & Sons.

In A Wealth of Properly-Being, Meir Statman, the Glenn Klimek Professor of Finance at Santa Clara College and a distinguished thought chief in behavioral finance, explores how monetary well-being can result in life well-being by means of the third era of behavioral finance.

The primary era describes folks as “irrational,” whereas the second era describes them as “regular.” Statman likewise describes folks as “regular” however broadens the lens of finance to see them as entire individuals and present them in life well-being domains, together with relationship/marriage, household, associates, well being, work, schooling, faith, and society.

Monetary well-being is a important aspect (area) of life well-being, however it’s life well-being that individuals in the end need. The guide combines scientific findings by students in numerous fields, resembling finance, economics, medication, psychology, and sociology, with sensible tales that present insights into these findings. This essential guide informs monetary advisers, monetary planners, monetary teachers, and buyers in regards to the third era of behavioral finance’s give attention to well-being as folks’s major need and on making certain that funds are built-in into life-style to realize each monetary and life well-being.

In response to Statman, having extra money (larger monetary well-being) is correlated with larger ranges of life well-being, however cash alone is just not every thing and cash is just not ample after we assess folks. Social standing, for instance, issues for all times well-being. The primary purpose of the guide is to assist readers replicate on what goes into their life well-being, together with what makes life price dwelling, in addition to insights into how managing monetary well-being can optimize the portfolio of life selections.

I discovered Statman’s conclusions on schooling, well being, and work to be most insightful and related for myself. Though schooling prices cash in tuition and dwelling bills, it enhances well-being by the utilitarian advantages of higher employment and better revenue and by the expressive and emotional advantages of elevated information, lifelong friendships, and excessive social standing. Folks experiencing excessive life well-being take pleasure in excessive perceived well being, low self-reported ache, and low medical dangers, with psychological sickness being the very best single predictor of low evaluative well-being.

In response to Statman, we derive utilitarian advantages from our work within the type of earnings, however we additionally derive expressive and emotional advantages from our work by means of identification, which means, group, dignity, and pleasure. Work enhances well-being, and well-being enhances work prospects and revenue. Individuals who work longer stay longer. Excessive worker well-being results in excessive worker productiveness, excessive buyer loyalty, and elevated profitability. Sadly, few persons are lucky sufficient to take pleasure in well-being in all of the domains.

A technique wealth advisers can profit from this guide is thru Statman’s suggestion that they evolve into well-being advisers if they’re to compete for as we speak’s purchasers and purchasers of the long run as a result of lots of the conventional companies of economic advisers at the moment are generic. Monetary advisers present recommendation on asset allocation and rebalance portfolios, however so do robo-advisers at a decrease value. Robo-advisers, nonetheless, can’t function well-being advisers, which is a possible aggressive benefit for monetary advisers. By changing into associates with their purchasers, monetary advisers get hold of an understanding of what’s going on within the lives of their households and youngsters.

In abstract, A Wealth of Properly-Being is a considerate and sensible guide with analysis backing a lot of Statman’s recommendation. Finance practitioners can profit from his problem to make finance an “afterthought” and spend extra time fascinated by our life well-being. The area of funds is barely one of many many domains of life well-being, but it has a uniquely essential place as a result of it underlies all different domains, since cash is required to pay for meals, shelter, schooling, and non secular contributions and to keep up our well being.