Behavioural economics

Understanding investor behaviour to help achieve better client outcomes

Manulife Investment Management and BEworks 

Manulife Investment Management has partnered with BEworks, a leading behavioural economics consulting firm, to deliver insight on the principles of behavioural economics and investor financial decision-making that will enhance the ability of advisors to understand and counteract the negative aspects of human emotions, especially in volatile markets.

Meet our experts

Dr. David R. Lewis

President, BEworks Research Institute

Prior to joining BEworks, David was an assistant professor at the Ted Rogers School of Retail Management at Ryerson University. He has held numerous senior positions in the financial services industry, including head of banking at Barclays Wealth USA, head of banking products at UBS Financial Services USA, board chair at UBS Bank USA, and chief marketing officer and chief information technology officer at ING DIRECT USA. David earned a PhD in Marketing, specializing in consumer behavior, from the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics at Wilfred Laurier University, and an MBA in Strategy and Finance from the Schulich School of Business at York University. David also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Behavioural economics insights 

Unlock insight into the principles of behavioural economics to enhance your ability to understand and counteract the negative aspects of human emotions in financial decision-making, especially in volatile markets.

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  • Advisor toolkit — using behavioural economics to help clients make better financial decisions 

    Our behavioural economics toolkit explains investing behaviours and how you can use this knowledge to help your clients make better decisions.

    Download the toolkit

Contact us

Behavioural economics shows how clients may think when making investment decisions during the best of times and in difficult times. By understanding the ideas of behaviourally informed advice, you can find ways to help your clients manage their emotional reactions in different market conditions. Advisors, fill in your information and click Submit to have a Manulife Investment Management contact you about the benefits of BE.

Value of behaviourally informed advice study

Can behavioural economics improve outcomes for clients? In partnership with BEworks, we conducted a study to find out.

Click here to read the complete study and recommendations

Short on time? Read the complete study later, but take a look at our summary of the study and its findings. 

  • What we learned: employing behavioural economics (BE) can create tangibly superior outcomes for clients and advisors, and for their relationship.

  • BE-informed tactics nearly doubled clients' likelihood of following advisor recommendations

  • Using BE principles led to more diversified portfolios

  • Behaviourally modified advice helped participants improve the better risk/reward balance in their portfolios