17.3K
Downloads
21
Episodes
Financial decisions are endlessly complicated. There’s a huge body of academic literature that tries to study them to look for answers on how to improve decision making while a broad industry of financial advisors also work with investors every day on decisions that affect their financial futures. But there exists a divide between the two. On The Behavioral Divide, presented by Avantis Investors®, host and UCLA Professor Hal Hershfield examines this divide to find insights that may help advisors and investors make better financial decisions. If you’d like to share your thoughts on the podcast or our episodes, send us a note at BehavioralDivide@AvantisInvestors.com. For other contact options, please visit avantisinvestors.com/avantis-contact. The views expressed in this presentation are the speaker’s own and not necessarily those of Avantis Investors, a brand by American Century Investments. This presentation is for general information only and is not intended to provide investment, tax or legal advice or recommendations for any particular situation or type of retirement plan. Please consult with a financial, tax or legal advisor on your own particular circumstances. Hal Hershfield is not affiliated with American Century Investments.
Episodes
Wednesday Dec 17, 2025
Wednesday Dec 17, 2025
Change is hard. Helping others change isn’t always simple either. But we know, especially for folks like financial advisors, there will be times it’s important that you do. So, what can we do to make change easier, or to help others get where they want to go?
On this episode of The Behavioral Divide, we cover exactly that. Professor Hal Hershfield speaks with two outstanding guests. He interviews Professor Katy Milkman of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and author of How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be as well as Tiffany Rosetti who serves as a financial advisor for Wealth Enhancement.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe or let us know by giving our series a five-star rating. We’d also love to hear from you. To join in on the discussion, send us a note at BehavioralDivide@AvantisInvestors.com.
Important Disclosures
The views expressed in this presentation are the speaker’s own and not necessarily those of American Century Investments. This presentation is for general information only and is not intended to provide investment, tax or legal advice or recommendations for any particular situation or type of retirement plan. Please consult with a financial, tax or legal advisor on your own particular circumstances.
Hal Hershfield is not affiliated with American Century Investments.
The book How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Avantis Investors or American Century Investments.
Follow us on social media:
LinkedIn: https://a.vant.is/4ppUSVI
Subscribe to The Behavioral Divide podcast:
Spotify: https://a.vant.is/3IlDEIy
Apple: https://a.vant.is/3IgEhDe
Wednesday Jan 28, 2026
Wednesday Jan 28, 2026
Much of the popular personal financial advice that reaches the average person doesn’t come from economists or professors. It often comes from writers and radio hosts that in some cases have amassed millions of followers and risen to prominence through widely available, low-cost financial guidance.
On the next episode of The Behavioral Divide, Professor Hal Hershfield discusses this reality with James Choi, Professor of Finance at the Yale School of Management. Professor Choi has done extensive research examining the 50 most popular personal finance books to identify where their central themes match, and where they fail to align, with the academic literature. They discuss this work, as well as the most significant findings from academia that Professor Choi believes have failed to make it into the common practices of financial advisors and could potentially make a big difference for your clients.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe or let us know by giving our series a five-star rating. We’d also love to hear from you. To join in on the discussion, send us a note at BehavioralDivide@AvantisInvestors.com.
Important Disclosures
The views expressed in this presentation are the speaker’s own and not necessarily those of American Century Investments. This presentation is for general information only and is not intended to provide investment, tax or legal advice or recommendations for any particular situation or type of retirement plan. Please consult with a financial, tax or legal advisor on your own particular circumstances.
Hal Hershfield is not affiliated with American Century Investments.
Follow us on social media:
LinkedIn: https://a.vant.is/4ppUSVI
X: https://a.vant.is/4psIwMw
Subscribe to The Behavioral Divide podcast:
Spotify: https://a.vant.is/3IlDEIy
Apple: https://a.vant.is/3IgEhDe
Wednesday Apr 01, 2026
Wednesday Apr 01, 2026
Risk can be complicated. One client’s views on risk might vary quite a lot from another. Just the same, one’s feelings about risk can vary from today versus next year. Advisors often aim to uncover client attitudes toward risk through questionnaires, but what has the research shown works (or doesn’t) with these tools? What has been found that might help advisors better understand what motivates how their clients feel about risk?
On this episode of The Behavioral Divide, presented by Avantis Investors®, Professor Hal Hershfield dives into these questions and more with Professor Terry Odean from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Jennifer Baick, who leads the financial planning group at Mercer Advisors.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe or let us know by giving our series a five-star rating. We’d also love to hear from you. To join in on the discussion, send us a note at BehavioralDivide@AvantisInvestors.com.
Important Disclosures
The views expressed in this presentation are the speaker’s own and not necessarily those of American Century Investments. This presentation is for general information only and is not intended to provide investment, tax or legal advice or recommendations for any particular situation or type of retirement plan. Please consult with a financial, tax or legal advisor on your own particular circumstances.
Hal Hershfield is not affiliated with American Century Investments.
Follow us on social media:
LinkedIn: https://a.vant.is/4ppUSVI
Subscribe to The Behavioral Divide podcast:
Spotify: https://a.vant.is/3IlDEIy
Apple: https://a.vant.is/3IgEhDe
Wednesday Apr 29, 2026
Wednesday Apr 29, 2026
On the surface, many financial decisions may appear as simple math problems, but the numbers alone don’t always provide the “right” answer for everyone. One domain this applies is an investor’s decumulation phase—the period where our focus is no longer on accumulating savings for the future and becomes about how to draw on the nest egg we’ve built and fund our income in retirement.
Social security claiming decisions are a prime example. How much you ultimately receive from social security is not only affected by when you claim but also how long you live. This leads to decisions that can be fraught with psychological factors.
On this episode of The Behavioral Divide, presented by Avantis Investors®, Professor Hal Hershfield discusses these psychological considerations that arise with decumulation and social security claiming decisions. To uncover the latest from the academic research and real-world advice, he speaks with an expert in decumulation decisions, Professor Suzanne Shu of Cornell University, and the CEO of financial advisory firm Define Financial, Taylor Schulte, CFP®.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe or let us know by giving our series a five-star rating. We’d also love to hear from you. To join in on the discussion, send us a note at BehavioralDivide@AvantisInvestors.com.
Important Disclosures
The views expressed in this presentation are the speaker’s own and not necessarily those of American Century Investments. This presentation is for general information only and is not intended to provide investment, tax or legal advice or recommendations for any particular situation or type of retirement plan. Please consult with a financial, tax or legal advisor on your own particular circumstances.
Hal Hershfield is not affiliated with American Century Investments.
Follow us on social media:
LinkedIn: https://a.vant.is/4ppUSVI
Subscribe to The Behavioral Divide podcast:
Spotify: https://a.vant.is/3IlDEIy
Apple: https://a.vant.is/3IgEhDe
2 days ago
2 days ago
For many, buying a home is the largest investment they’ll make, so it stands to reason that the decisions we make with mortgage loans matter. Yet, there are several persistent, predictable “mistakes” that are observed with mortgages.
On this episode of The Behavioral Divide presented by Avantis Investors®—and part two of our Beyond the Math miniseries—Professor Hal Hershfield interviews Columbia Business School Professor Eric Johnson and Lake Tahoe Wealth Management CEO, Debbie Grose, to examine the psychological drivers that affect mortgage decisions like choosing a type of loan, deciding whether to refinance, or evaluating whether to pay off or maintain a mortgage. They’ll discuss common pitfalls found in the academic research and from the perspective of a financial advisor, along with ways we might overcome them.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe or let us know by giving our series a five-star rating. We’d also love to hear from you. To join in on the discussion, send us a note at BehavioralDivide@AvantisInvestors.com.
Important Disclosures
The views expressed in this presentation are the speaker’s own and not necessarily those of American Century Investments. This presentation is for general information only and is not intended to provide investment, tax or legal advice or recommendations for any particular situation or type of retirement plan. Please consult with a financial, tax or legal advisor on your own particular circumstances.
Hal Hershfield is not affiliated with American Century Investments.
Follow us on social media:
LinkedIn: https://a.vant.is/4ppUSVI
Subscribe to The Behavioral Divide podcast:
Spotify: https://a.vant.is/3IlDEIy
Apple: https://a.vant.is/3IgEhDe