Dr Greg Davies on Behavioural Finance

How can Behavioural Science help us better manage our financial affairs? Why should we still invest in oil companies if we believe in green energy? What does how we taste wine tell us about human decision-making?

All of these questions, and a lot more, are answered on this episode of the Human Risk podcast, where I’m joined by my guest Behavioural Finance expert Dr Greg Davies.

Greg has been on the show before. You’ll find that episode which he recorded together with Stuart Tootal, here: https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/stuart-tootal-greg-davies/

He works for Oxford Risk, a fintech that, in their words, ‘empowers financial institutions to provide hyper-personalised advice to their clients, for today and for a lifetime of financial decisions’. In our discussion, we explore three topics:

1. The challenges of making sound financial decisions and how an understanding of Behavioural Science can deliver better outcomes. Because, as Great explains, we’re not naturally good at making the best financial decisions for the longer term. Greg also shares some fascinating insights about how a combination of machines making diagnoses and humans prescribing solutions can lead to optimal outcomes.

2. Sustainability - Greg explains why counter-intuitively, we should continue to invest in fossil-fuel businesses and why promoting sustainable investments solely based on the returns they generate is missing an opportunity.

3. Finally, we talk about Behavioural Winetasting and why the way in which we taste wine can help us to understand flaws in human decision-making.

It’s an eclectic mix, but as you’ll hear, they’ve all got one thing in common — they’re things Greg can talk insightfully and passionately about.

To find out more about:
- Greg, see his LinkedIn and Twitter profiles: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregbdavies/ and https://twitter.com/GregBDavies
- Oxford Risk see their website: https://www.oxfordrisk.com/
- Behavioural Winetasting: https://www.johndownes.com/behavioral-wine-tasting

During our discussion, we also refer to other episodes of the podcast:

- Professor Olivier Sibony on ’Noise’ - https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/professor-olivier-sibony-on-noise/
- Nicole Ludvik-Smith on ’Skydiving & Stunts’ - https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/nicole-smith-ludvik-on-skydiving-stunts/