More summer reading recommendations for financial advisers
Jamie Hopkins, Director of retirement research, Carson Group
Professional read: “The Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Road Map for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make” (2021) by Ron Lieber
Description: Honestly, lots of advisers want to talk about student loan and college education planning but few really have the deep level of knowledge needed to do so. There are a few courses and programs, and a lot of free online materials, but I often see advisers struggling to find a great resource, and Ron Lieber’s new book fits that bill. This is a great book to walk through the ins and outs of college planning, what happens behind the scenes at colleges, and it helped me get better at having these college education planning conversations with clients. After reading the book, I also picked up a lot of interesting messaging and framing techniques on how to reposition the college funding decisions. I also think this book works great as a resource to give clients.
Leisure read: “Money Mammoth: Harness the Power of Financial Psychology to Evolve Your Money Mindset, Avoid Extinction, and Crush Your Financial Goals” (2020) by Brad Klontz
Description: Behavioral finance is in the first inning of the game. We are just starting to understand the deep-level impact behavior and experiences have on our decisions around money. The authors of “Money Mammoth” take this back to the Stone Age, literally, and talk about how our ancestors’ lives impact our views of money. The interesting thing about this book is that it gives a lot of client questions and exercises you can do. Every chapter ends with insights into that topic and questions you can use to learn and challenge others. Eventually, advisory firms need to tie the money mammoth of behavioral finance into their practices and client experiences, but in reality, most aren’t ready to do this yet. So this book serves as a great introduction and thought-provoking journey into behavioral finance.