Trust – the belief that those to whom we are vulnerable are both willing and able to act in our interests – is the no.1 factor in the decision to select and retain an asset manager.

The combination of man and machine - tech-augmented humans or "cyborgs" - can be more effective than either alone, posing the greatest opportunity to human financial advisers in the long run.

While economics studies how humans allocate scarce resources, and psychology studies the human mind and behavior, there is a gap at the intersection between the two – an emerging new body of knowledge dubbed, "Finology".

Despite the view that computers will come to dominate certain areas within financial planning, the reality is that there are still ways that computer-human duos can be more effective than computers or humans alone.

Finology Summit 2018 will help you better understand the preferences, needs and objectives of individual investors, to further improve the way you relate with them and help them achieve their goals. The program features an exceptional and eclectic international faculty of behavioural finance, behavioural economics, and psychology experts covering various aspects of finology with particular focus on the implementation challenges, tools and opportunities faced by practitioners.

Three recent research papers continue to grow our understanding of how behavioural traits impact on markets. The first provides insights into Warren Buffett's success; the other two examine the markets' response to earnings information.

Plenty of anecdotes suggest that baby boomers are spending their savings and will leave nothing for the next generation. Looking at the actual data, this is questionable.

While some still firmly believe that values and ethics have no part to play in investing, the tide is turning. Values play a vital role in investment and business decisions - and, increasingly, investors care about more than just financial returns.

Human beings are subject to behavioural biases, which negatively affect their ability to make rational choices. These behavioural biases create market inefficiencies that active investment managers can exploit to generate alpha.

Two recent books indicate that a quiet revolution is challenging the foundations of economics, promising radical changes in how we view many aspects of organisations, public policy, and even social life.

The winner of this year's Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Richard Thaler of the University of Chicago, is a controversial choice. For some in the profession, the idea that psychological research should even be part of economics has generated hostility for years.

Portfolio insurance - invented over 40 years ago - has experienced the renaissance that it very much deserves. Trend (momentum) investing dates back over 40 years, too - the success of which is traced back in this paper to over 100 years.

Two recent studies provide evidence that issues unrelated to the fundamental operation of a firm impact their market valuation.

While some still firmly believe that ethics has nothing to do with investment, the tide is turning. Increasingly, clients are demanding ethical portfolios.

Managers must both develop and implement an investment process - but we seem to be determined to deny them recognition for the former and to judge their performance on the latter.

People often consider risks in isolation, and overpay for protection as a result. Rather than hedging against specific risks, investors should think like a game theorist.

Game theory, econometrics and distributed computing power can reveal a client's true preferences for risk, loss, uncertainty, time and goals – with scientific precision and in terms that clients can understand.

Two recent studies shed light on retirement income planning. One proposes a framework to avoid the pitfalls of shortfall probabilities. The other finds biological age impacts spending rates.

Observing how a client makes financial trade-offs can provide a more accurate measure of their risk preferences than if we ask questions about what they think they would do.

It's become conventional wisdom that under-performance is due to the irrational investment behavior of individuals. It's time to question whether conventional wisdom has even a scintilla of meaning.