You are a unique individual, made up of conflicting thoughts, feelings, beliefs and experiences. In combination, these different elements guide you through your decisions and, consequently, through your life.
However, sometimes your emotions and biases can get the better of you. You might find it harder to make thought-out, logical decisions when a feeling of fear or worry clouds your judgement.
When it comes to your money, this can be tricky to overcome. Anxiety about your finances can prevent you from making the best choices for you in your circumstances.
That’s why, at Velocity, we use scientifically grounded behavioural finance to understand who you are as a person and what makes you tick. We believe it’s truly the best way to understand and improve your relationship with your money.
Psychometric tests from DataPoints
One of the first things we’ll do is get to know you personally. But, as well as having a chat about who you are, we’ll also encourage you to take our psychometric tests that will give us an insight into the way you think.
We use tests designed by DataPoints, an American psychology firm, specifically focusing on an individuals’ ability to build and sustain wealth.
The tests are rooted in scientific research going back nearly half a century to the late 1970s, when a pioneering psychologist, Dr Thomas J. Stanley, produced ground-breaking studies that changed the way the world views wealth and affluence. This culminated in the writing of his revolutionary book, The Millionaire Next Door.
Now, Dr Stanley’s work is continued by his daughter, Dr Sarah Stanley Fallaw, and focuses on finding factors that drill down into what creates financial success.
These tests will show you more about your individual relationship with your money. You might even find out about your subconscious views and habits that you weren’t aware of.
Helping you to overcome your biases and emotions
Your responses to the tests will give us a clearer picture of your attitude to risk, your personal biases, and your emotional relationship with money.
Often, when it comes to money, we are our own worst enemy. We make decisions based on heuristics and biases, allowing emotions to guide our decisions, rather than logic or rational thinking.
For example, investing can be laced with emotion. Fear of putting your money in the market can put you off making investments that could actually generate long-term returns.
On the other hand, it could make you sell a stock or asset because the market is volatile, when holding on to it would actually be the logical choice.
Or do you perhaps have the opposite issue, finding that you spend money more frivolously than you’d like? This could even be preventing you from getting what you want out of life, spending your money rather than saving for your long-term goals.
Once you’re aware of what it is that’s holding you back from achieving your goals, it can be easier to make constructive changes that put you on the right track.
An approach grounded in behavioural finance gives us the information we need to help you tackle the obstacles that get in the way of your overall financial freedom.
Using science to help you plan with purpose
Sometimes, you may just need a helping hand to reassure you that you’re making the right decisions.
We’ll use the information we learn from these tests to inform the financial plan that we write for you, helping you to manage your biases and feelings along the way.
Fundamentally, we believe that financial planning is most useful when you plan with purpose. We take a comprehensive view of your money in the context of your life, using your personal goals as the benchmark for what you want to achieve.
We’ll then work with you to suggest strategies for getting you there, supporting you throughout your journey.
Please note:
Your capital is at risk. The value of your investment (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested.