New Life-Cycle Savings and Investing Publication Furthers the Discussion of Improving Investing Education, Goal Attainment, and Predictability

Category: CM Research & Insights, AC RSS
Source: Research Foundation of CFA Institute

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Research Foundation of CFA Institute today released The Future of Life-Cycle Savings and Investing, a ground-breaking collection of speeches, papers, and discussions on life-cycle finance theory and practice, consumers’ need to make rational investment and savings choices, employers’ and governments’ roles in supporting rational decision-making, and future life-cycle products and services.The publication is the result of an inaugural conference co-sponsored by Boston University School of Management, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Research Center for Behavioral Economics and Decisions-Making, and the Research Foundation of CFA Institute.  Other professional organizations represented were the Retirement Income Industry Association, the Society of Actuaries, the Employee Benefits Research Institute, and the National Association of Personal Finance Advisors.“The aim of [this conference] was to create a cross-functional dialogue among the key players in the industry about how best to meet the goal of serving the public with valuable investment and planning options in a manner that leverages the power of the marketplace,” wrote Zvi Bodie, the Norman and Adele Barron Professor of Management at Boston University and the lead designer of the event.  “There was general agreement among the speakers that Americans are not well informed about the changes in the way pensions are provided nor are they saving enough on their own to maintain a decent standard of living in their old age.”

Paul Samuelson, Institute Professor and Professor of Economics (Emeritus) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Robert Merton, the John and Natty McArthur University Professor at the Harvard Business School, were keynote speakers for the conference and their remarks are included in the book.  Both are recipients of the Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science.  Samuelson’s remarks set the theme of the conference—the relationship between economic science and the conventional advice provided to households about investing over the life cycle.  Merton “analyzed and forecasted the likely directions for the next stage of financial innovation in life-cycle products for consumers,” wrote Bodie.

Jeff Diermeier, CFA, president and CEO of CFA Institute, wrote that “almost all individuals will at some point become investors. What they need, therefore, is investor education.  Yet our educational system treats investor education and, more broadly, economic education as a second thought—an elective course at best.  Unfortunately, lack of education leads to lack of participation.”

He added that CFA Institute “has a vital role to play as a long-term advocate for investors of all types by providing them with guidance that will help them understand the realities of saving and investing.  Therefore, CFA Institute is intent on creating a cadre of investment professionals who meet a high standard of ethical awareness and objective investment knowledge.”

Other speakers at the conference came from academia, investment firms, the media, policy and research groups, industry associations, and consumer groups.

Additional Resources:

• “The Future of Life-cycle Saving and Investing” Webcast (Boston University site or CFA Institute site)
• Lifetime Financial Advice: Human Capital, Asset Allocation, and Insurance by Roger G. Ibbotson, Moshe A. Milevsky, Peng Chen, CFA, and Kevin X. Zhu.
• Investment Management for Taxable Private Investors by Jarrod Wilcox, CFA, Jeffrey E. Horvitz, and Dan diBartolomeo.
• Additional private wealth management educational resources.

About the Research Foundation of CFA Institute:

The mission of the Research Foundation is to encourage education for investment practitioners worldwide and to fund, publish, and distribute relevant research. The Foundation, emphasizing research of practical value to investment professionals, explores new and challenging topics that provide unique perspectives in the rapidly evolving profession of investment management.  The Research Foundation publishes books, monographs, literature reviews, webcasts, and papers.

 

About CFA Institute:

CFA Institute is the global membership association that administers the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) and Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM) curricula and exam programs worldwide; publishes research; conducts professional development programs; and sets voluntary, ethics-based professional and performance-reporting standards for the investment industry. CFA Institute, with more than 96,000 members in 134 countries and territories, has awarded the prestigious CFA charter to 79,000 investment analysts. There are 135 professional societies affiliated with CFA Institute, in 56 countries and territories. In 2007, CFA Institute celebrates the 60th anniversary of “the founding of a profession.” CFA Institute has offices in Charlottesville, Va., London, Hong Kong, and New York. More information may be found at www.cfainstitute.org (Bloomberg users can find CFA Institute at 497458Z).

633 times viewed

---