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Summer Reading Series: Non-Fiction

A Wealth of Well-Being: A Holistic Approach to Behavioral Finance by Meir Statman

During one of my evening commutes from Belmont to Duxbury, I selected a podcast for some work-lite listening. The Long View, produced by Morningstar, the investment research company, releases mostly nerdy stuff that only advisors could possibly love.

I figured an episode entitled The Biggest Risks in Life Are Not in the Stock Market might offer a departure from the typical economic / market / business / analytic programs the crowd my Pocket Casts app.

The interviewee, Meir Statman, who is a serious academician at Santa Clara University, said at the outset: “If you want real risk, get married. And if you want more, have children.” I was immediately hooked.

It became clear during the episode that Statman has a passion for teaching about behavioral finance, thinking holistically, and promoting financial well-being.

In the book, as well as on the podcast, Statman’s sense of humor, compassion, and wisdom are evident as he explains his thesis: we need financial well-being to enjoy life well-being, but it is life well-being that we seek. And life well-being has many domains, including those of family, friends, health, work, education, religion, and society.

Statman contends: “Financial well-being comes when we can meet current and future financial obligations, absorb financial setbacks, and keep driving toward financial goals, such as adequate retirement income. Life well-being comes when we live satisfying lives, full of meaning and purpose.”

This book is an important one for those who provide financial advice, laying out a kind of evaluative framework and providing insight on how to understand clients’ critical needs, wants and wishes. It’s also written in a compelling, approachable way for individuals who are curious about behavioral finance and seeking a clearer path toward life well-being.

-Rob