BIO: Brian Portnoy is the founder of Shaping Wealth, a learning technology platform transforming the human experience of money.
STORY: Brian joins us again on the podcast. This time he talks about his endeavors in behavioral finance and how he’s helping financial advisors improve their emotional competencies to achieve financial well-being more effectively.
LEARNING: Put thought into your financial well-being.
“The driving assumption of most economics is that more is better. We know that that’s not true.”
Brian Portnoy
Guest profile
Brian Portnoy is the founder of Shaping Wealth, a learning technology platform transforming the human experience of money.
He is one of the world’s leading experts on the psychology of money.
He has written multiple bestselling books, including The Geometry of Wealth, and has 20+ years of experience as an investor and educator in the hedge fund and mutual fund industries.
He is a CFA Charterholder and earned a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago.
Brian Portnoy was one of our first guests on the My Worst Investment Ever podcast. He shared his experience with us in episode 17. Four years later, he joins us again, and in today’s episode, we catch up on what he’s been up to.
Getting into the world of social psychology, neuroscience and behavioral finance
Brian got into social psychology, positive psychology, and neuroscience. he wanted to understand how we tick as human beings, what makes us have shared qualities and experiences, and what makes us unique. He enjoyed that endeavor of learning so much that he wrote a few books in the field. One’s called The Investor’s Paradox: The Power of Simplicity in a World of Overwhelming Choice.
A few years later, Brian published a different book called The Geometry of Wealth: How to shape a life of money and meaning. The book is about behavioral finance and targets professionals in the wealth management industry. The book seeks to address three issues these professionals face:
- Am I going to be okay?
- How much is enough?
- Does money buy happiness?
The uniting theme of these three issues is the term funded contentment. This is the ability to underwrite a life well lived, a life that is meaningful to you—however you choose to define it. There’s this assumption of most economics that more is better. According to Brian, this is not valid. Instead, he believes it should be about finding calibration and balance in equilibrium more than maximizing things, especially the size of our bank accounts or balance sheets.
As brian dug deeper into behavioral finance, he felt the urge to get into coaching. So he started a coaching and content platform called Shaping Wealth. He took some of the key ideas from The Geometry of Wealth and used them in his coaching business to help people make better decisions, form better habits, and achieve a more meaningful life with a specific emphasis on financial well-being.
Dealing with overwhelming dimensions of our money life
Brian notes that there are many dimensions to our money life, and we’re often overwhelmed by them. We live in a global financial supermarket—an always-on, 24/7 world. His book and coaching business help people learn how to form good habits and ultimately achieve the well-being they want— even when so many things are stacked against them.
Coaching the coaches to keep up with a changing wealth management industry
Brian’s business works with the wealth management industry. It’s a B2B platform that works with financial advisors. As the financial advice industry moves from transactional to more relational, advisors become not just planners but also coaches and guides for people. So Brian has stepped into coach the coaches.
Globally, companies are investing in their people in ways that they haven’t in the past. Physical, emotional, and financial wellness has become a priority for many companies. With this in mind, Brian is helping companies be more thoughtful about what they share with their employees. This is in terms of assisting them in making better decisions, forming better habits, and, more broadly, helping money fit into a meaningful life.
So much of what Brian is doing at Shaping wealth is helping financial advisors and, in turn, their clients improve their emotional competencies to achieve financial well-being more effectively.
No.1 goal for the next 12 months
Brian’s goal for the next 12 months is to ensure that an increasing percentage of the global wealth management community understands the positive impact a chief behavioral officer can have on their firm, team, and clients.
Parting words
“I just want to leave with an expression of thanks and gratitude, you’re a good guy, and I appreciate it.”
Brian Portnoy
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