LA VISTA, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
To better equip advisors with the skills to steer clients away from costly choices fueled by emotions, Securities America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. (NYSE MKT: LTS, LTS PrA), recently added Behavioral Finance to its professional development opportunities.
Behavioral Finance is an interdisciplinary school of thought that links investing, neuroscience and psychology to help advisors better understand why investors sometimes make costly, irrational decisions with their finances.
With cooperation from think2perform, Securities America’s first Behavioral Finance workshops were held in November and December 2016. It hopes to certify 100 advisors in 2017.
Lance Harshbarger, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional with a practice in Overland Park, Kan., said the three-day training will be vital as the industry shifts its focus from selling investment products to providing broad-based service.
“What’s important to the success or failure of any individual family is not whether they owned mutual fund A over mutual fund B,” Harshbarger said. “It's their behavior as an investor that’s ultimately going to determine whether or not they make it to the destination they have in mind with their retirement plan.”
Kirk Hulett, executive vice president of strategy and practice management, said Securities America offers live workshops rather than online courses because it gives participants the opportunity to learn from each other and share their experiences. In addition to the advisors who have completed the training, Hulett and all Securities America practice management consultants earned their Behavioral Finance certification.
“Securities America is going all-in on Behavioral Financial advice. We strongly believe behavioral advice paired with expert financial planning an investment management is the model for the practice of the future,” Hulett said. “Because the course is about recognizing, understanding and responding to emotions and behavior, we knew the best setting was where advisors could practice the techniques in-person with other professionals before working with clients.”
Upcoming Securities America Behavioral Finance workshops will be April 26-27 and June 5 in Minneapolis, Minn., and May 22-23 and June 15 in Dallas, Texas. To receive the Behavioral Finance designation, participants will need to attend all three days of each workshop and pass an online test.
Securities America is one of the nation’s largest independent broker-dealers with more than 2,000 independent advisors and approximately $60 billion in client assets.
Securities offered through Securities America, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Securities America Advisors, Inc., an SEC Registered Investment Advisory Firm.
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