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See Innovation From Our Behavior Team at MIC

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See Innovation From Our Behavior Team at MIC

Gain access to the Morningstar Investment Conference on-demand to hear more from Samantha Lamas and Steve Wendel.

Steve Wendel: Hey everybody. I am Steve Wendel, head of behavioral science here at Morningstar. I'm joined by Sam Lamas, who's one of our key researchers in the behavioral team. We want to tell you about our session at the Morningstar Investment Conference.

What are you most excited about for our session and for the conference overall?

Samantha Lamas: Sure. Well, for our session in particular, I'm really excited to share some of our upcoming research--our latest research, upcoming research, and some of the latest behavioral products that our team has been working on that are coming out sometime soon.

Wendel: Excellent. Now I seem to remember there's a download that over 10,000 advisors have already gotten. Can you tell us about that?

Lamas: Yeah, sure. We created a guide for advisors to help investors work through thee volatility and craziness that's going on right now. In the guide, we give advice both for investors and advice just to prepare for volatility, which is also always a good idea. Then we also gave people advice on how to deal with volatility in the moment--so when clients are panicking and on the phone with you and need advice then and there.

Wendel: Excellent. Excellent. And you did this, right, during the first part of the downturn, right, in March?

Lamas: Yes. That's when we released a paper--or released the guide. It's made for investors during volatility, during times of panic, and then in the presentation--because when we recorded the session, things were a bit calmer--we emphasize the need to prepare for volatility, but nonetheless, it's great advice to use now, later in the future, et cetera.

Wendel: Excellent. Tell me a bit about those tools you mentioned in addition to the guide that people can download.

Lamas: One of our latest tools is focused on understanding an investor's biases and their own personal biases. We all have biases, of course, but it's all to different levels. Some people on our team developed a tool to help diagnose investors and see what biases they personally struggle with and how you can help them overcome it.

Wendel: Excellent. Now, where can people learn more?

Lamas: We actually are featuring it in our Innovation Lab. So, please check out the Innovation Lab. Give us your feedback. We would love to hear your thoughts.

Wendel: Great. So you can check out the tools, the new tools from behavioral science team at the innovation area of the conference. And of course, check out our session to learn about our research and particularly this practical guide to help financial professionals during market volatility. Thank you very much. Thank you, Sam.

Lamas: Thank you.

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About the Authors

Samantha Lamas

Senior Behavioral Researcher
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Samantha Lamas is a behavioral researcher at Morningstar. She is a recipient of the Montgomery-Warschauer Award for her research in financial planning.

Lamas' research focuses on investor engagement and the factors that drive people's decision-making about investing and money. Her work delves into how people think about their financial goals, what they look for when seeking financial advice, and what kinds of mental shortcuts people use when making decisions about their personal finances.

Lamas joined Morningstar in 2016 as a product consultant working directly with the individual investor and advisor audience segments before moving into a research role.

Lamas holds a bachelor's degree in business with a concentration in finance from Dominican University. Follow Lamas on Twitter at @SamanthaLamas4 and on LinkedIn.

Email Samantha at Samantha.Lamas@morningstar.com.

Steve Wendel

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Steve Wendel is head of behavioral science for Morningstar, where he leads a team of behavioral scientists and practitioners who conduct original research to help people invest and manage their money more effectively. Before assuming his current role in 2015, he was principal scientist for HelloWallet, a company that specializes in web and mobile financial wellness programs, where he studied savings behavior and coordinated the research efforts of HelloWallet’s advisory board. Morningstar owned HelloWallet from 2014 to 2017.

His latest book, Improving Employee Benefits, shows HR practitioners how they can use behavioral economics to help employees to take action on their benefits. In 2013, he published Designing for Behavior Change, which describes HelloWallet’s step-by-step approach to applying behavioral economics and psychology to product design.

Wendel holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, a master’s degree from The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and a doctorate from the University of Maryland, where he analyzed the dynamics of behavioral change over time.

Wendel is also the founder of the Action Design Network, a nonprofit organization that teaches members how use behavioral economics and psychology in product design. The network hosts more than 5,000 behavioral practitioners at events around the country, including the annual Design for Action Conference. Follow Steve on Twitter: @sawendel

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