The Spring 2013 Behavioral Finance (BeFi) Forum Public Policy Roundtable brought together the brightest minds in behavioral finance to discuss research that combines behavioral science and cognitive psychology with economics and finance. The work presented focused on topics of immediate relevance to public policy makers and industry leaders, including retirement security, financial inclusion, consumer financial protection and financial advice. The annual Roundtable is a unique opportunity to learn about the cutting edge of behavioral finance and how it can be incorporated into public policy and your efforts to improve Americans' financial decision making and well-being.
This day-long event included a series of topical panels based on curated presentations of academic research followed by discussion by leading practitioners.
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COFFEE AND REGISTRATION | 8:15 - 8:45 a.m. |
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE OPENING REMARKS
| 8:45 – 9:00 a.m. |
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Jeremy Burke and Krishna Kumar, RAND
Warren Cormier, Boston Research Group |
PANEL I |
Enhancing Retirement Security through Behavioral Finance
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9:00 - 10:15 a.m. |
| Moderator: | Anna Rappaport, Society of Actuaries Committee on Post-retirement Needs and Risk |
| Incentivizing Delayed Claiming Before Full Retirement Age |
| Anya Olsen, U.S. Social Security Administration |
| Time Discounting and Retirement |
| Michael Finke, Texas Tech |
| Consumer Preferences for Annuities: Beyond NPV |
| Robert Zeithammer, UCLA |
| Discussant: | Donald Fuerst, Senior Pension Fellow, American Academy of Actuaries |
COFFEE AND DISCUSSION BREAK | 10:15 – 10:30 a.m. |
PANEL II |
Building Knowledge to Build Financial Stability
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10:30 – 11:45 a.m. |
| Moderator: | Pamela Chan, CFED |
| The Power of Visual Tools and Stories: Improving Financial Literacy through Online Interventions |
| Anya Samak, University of Wisconsin-Madison |
| Access and Information: Complements or Substitutes for Youth Savings? |
| Julian Jamison, IPA |
| The Miracle of Compound Interest: Does our Intuition Fail?
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| Katherine Carman, RAND |
| Discussant: | Bobby Shriver, Civility |
LUNCH | 11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. |
| Behavioral Finance in Industry | 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. |
| Moderator: | Warren Cormier, President, Boston Research Group |
| Participants: | Doug Lebda, Chairman, CEO and Founder, LendingTree
Lee Lundy, Senior Vice President, Experian Consumer and Client Services
Hugh O’Toole, Senior Vice President, MassMutual Retirement Services |
PANEL III |
Behavioral Finance in the Federal Agencies
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1:30 – 2:15 p.m. |
| Moderator: | David Rogofsky, U.S. Social Security Administration |
| Participants: | Louisa Quittman, Director, Office of Financial Education, Treasury
Brendan Kelly, Family Self-Sufficiency Research Team Leader, ACF
Emily Schmitt, Social Science Research Analyst, ACF |
PANEL IV |
Using Behavioral Finance to Protect Investors
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2:15 – 3:30 p.m. |
| Moderator: | Christine Fahlund, T Rowe Price |
| Manipulating Attention to Past Performance Changes Investor Biases: Neural and Behavioral Evidence |
| Cary Frydman, USC Marshall School of Business |
| Second Thoughts on Second Opinions |
| Sunita Sah, Georgetown University and Harvard University |
| Distribution Fees and Mutual Fund Flows: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in the Indian Mutual Funds Market
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| Santosh Anagol, University of Pennsylvania |
| Discussant: | Matt O’Hara, BlackRock |
COFFEE AND DISCUSSION BREAK | 3:30 – 3:45 p.m. |
PANEL V |
Behavioral Approaches to Building Savings and Reducing Debt
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3:45 – 5:00 p.m. |
| Moderator: | Ashish Shrestha, Dimensional Fund Advisors |
| Do Lottery Payments Induce Savings: Evidence From the Lab |
| Melissa Kearney, University of Maryland |
| Household Debt Is Where the Money Is |
| Jonathan Zinman, Dartmouth and IPA |
| Soft versus Hard Commitments: A Test on Savings Behavior |
| Jill Luoto, RAND |
| Discussant: | Steve Wendel, HelloWallet |