Course Catalogue - Behavioural Finance (CMSE11203) (2024)


Course Outline
SchoolBusiness SchoolCollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate)AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits15ECTS Credits7.5
SummaryThis course is designed to provide an overview of an exciting new and fast growing area in finance, which takes as its premise that investment decision-making and investor behaviour are not necessarily driven by 'rational' considerations but by aspects of personal and market psychology. Behavioural finance recognises that our abilities to make complex financial decisions are limited due to the biases and errors of judgement to which all of us are prone. This course introduces cognitive biases, discusses the impact of such biases on the financial decision-making, and explores the behaviour of individual investors, fund managers and corporate managers.
Course description This course is intended to complement other finance courses that are mainly based on the traditional paradigm which assumes that investors and managers are generally rational. Specifically, this course has three main objectives. First, we aim to examine how the insights of behavioural finance theories shed light on the behaviour of individual investors and finance professionals in investment decision-making and corporate financial decision-making. Second, we explore the possibility to improve investment performance and corporate performance by recognising the cognitive biases and applying appropriate 'debiasing' techniques. Finally, we investigate the implications of behavioural finance for the construction of good corporate governance mechanisms.

Syllabus

Overview of behavioural finance
Overconfidence and individual investors
Overconfidence and professional investors
Disposition effect
Risk perceptions
Prospect theory
Decision frames
Mental accounting
Familiarity and representativeness
Behavioural portfolio management
Herding
Social interaction
Emotions and investment decisions
Behavioural biases and corporate decision-making (Valuation, capital budgeting, and capital structure)
Behavioural biases and corporate decision-making (Dividend policy and mergers and acquisitions)
Psychological phenomena, corporate governance and group process
Behavioural finance and the financial crisis

Student Learning Experience:

The learning occurs primarily through reading and thinking about the papers or chapters of books recommended and discussion in class. This reading is supported by the programme of ten lectures and nine tutorials, in each of which an overview of the topic is presented and the findings of a number of relevant papers are reviewed in some detail. Students are required to write a report. All students are expected to participate actively in class discussion.

Learning takes place in four stages. Prior to each session you are required to complete the reading assignments given. During the session, the lecture slides will be used to focus the discussion and to help to summarise key issues. As the structure of the elective is designed to be cumulative, you will be expected to bring your learning and insights from previous sessions to bear on subsequent sessions. You will bring together and test out your understanding of the issues discussed in the course during the lectures.

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisitesCo-requisites
Prohibited CombinationsOther requirements Business School students only unless an arrangement has been made. Please contact the course secretary.
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:None
Course StartSemester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours:150( Lecture Hours 20, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Other Study Hours 115, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 3,Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours0 )
Additional Information (LearningandTeaching)Prep Reading 40 Assignment: 45 Exam Prep 40
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam60 %,Coursework40 %,Practical Exam0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)Group written assignment 40% (made up of group written report 25% and individual essay on the group work 15%)
Final exam 60%
FeedbackAll students will be given at least one formative feedback or feedforward event for every course they undertake, provided during the semester in which the course is taken and in time to be useful in the completion of summative work on the course. Such feedback may be at course or programme level, but must include input of relevance to each course in the latter case.

For this course specifically students will get written feedback on the assignment and guideline answers and general feedback on the student performance in the exam.

Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)2:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Understand and critically discuss the differences between a behavioural finance perspective and a traditional finance perspective
  2. Understand and critically discuss the cognitive biases and errors of judgment that affect financial decisions
  3. Critically evaluate behavioural influences involving individuals¿ investment decisions
  4. Critically evaluate behavioural influences involving corporate (executive) financial decisions
  5. Critically discuss important developments in this new area and the associated practical insights they provide
Reading List
Required:

Nofsinger, J. (2014), The Psychology of Investing, 5th edition (international edition), Pearson, ISBN: 0133382877.
Shefrin, H. (2007), Behavioral Corporate Finance, 1st edition, McGraw-Hill, ISBN: 0072848650.

Recommended:

Forbes, W. (2009), Behavioural Finance, 1st edition, John Wiley, ISBN: 9780470028049.
Ackert, L. and Deaves, R. (2010), Behavioral Finance: Psychology, Decision-Making, and Markets, 1st edition, South-Western, ISBN: 0538752866.
Baker, K. and Nofsinger, J. (2010), Behavioral Finance: Investors, Corporations, and Markets, John Wiley, ISBN: 9780470499115.
Montier, J. (2010), Behavioural Finance, John Wiley, ISBN: 9780470844876.

Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and SkillsIntellectual Skills and personal development

On completion of the module, students should:
Have developed a critical understanding of the main principles of cognitive psychology as applied in behavioural finance;
Have developed their ability to understand complex lines of argument and reasoning in behavioural finance;
Be able to develop the links between behavioural finance theory and professional practice;
Have improved their written skills;
Have developed skills in collaboration and teamwork.

Subject Specific Skills

Students will be familiarised with the latest developments and issues in behavioural finance and understand their implications for securities pricing, financial analysis, and corporate finance decision-making.

KeywordsfinBehaviouralFinance
Contacts
Course organiserDr Arman Eshraghi
Tel: (0131 6)50 4311
Email: Arman.Eshraghi@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Rachel Allan
Tel: (0131 6)51 3757
Email: Rachel.Allan@ed.ac.uk
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© Copyright 2015 The University of Edinburgh - 18 January 2016 3:42 am

Course Catalogue - Behavioural Finance (CMSE11203) (2024)

FAQs

What is the course content of behavioral finance? ›

Behavioral Finance Course Overview

In the course, you will learn about the wide range of decision-making biases and information processing errors that influence our financial decision-making. We'll start the course with what behavioral finance is and its impacts on financial markets.

How important is behavioral finance? ›

Behavioral finance is a valuable tool for managing financial risk. It helps investors understand their own behavioral tendencies and provides insights into managing these tendencies. By doing so, investors can reduce the chances of making decisions that lead to significant losses.

What is the behavioral finance theory? ›

So, what is behavioral finance? It's an economic theory that explains often irrational financial behavior, such as overspending on credit cards or panic selling during a market downturn. People often make financial decisions based on emotions rather than rationality. 1.

Is financial psychology the same as behavioral finance? ›

While behavioral finance helps us make sense of human cognition and biases and how they impact financial behaviors, the broader field of financial psychology integrates other bodies of knowledge to help financial planners understand their clients' unique psychology around money and equip them with tools to help clients ...

What are the four themes of behavioural finance? ›

Overconfidence, cognitive dissonance, regret theory, and prospect theory are four themes in the field of behavioural finance. These four topics served as an introduction to the numerous distinct themes that have emerged in this discipline over the previous few years.

What are the three themes of behavioral finance? ›

Behavioral finance consists of three themes: (1) heuristic‐driven bias; (2) frame dependence; and (3) inefficient markets.

What is the disadvantage of behavioral finance? ›

Behavioural finance theory ignores the impact of social status on investment decisions. Some investments are made only to increase social status and investors do not care about the economic impact of such investments e.g. people purchase expensive houses and other goods to to 'keep up with the Jones's'.

Who uses behavioral finance? ›

Behavioral finance is an economic theory that helps explain why individuals make certain financial decisions. Finance professionals and economists use this information to help investors make better choices regarding their finances.

What is an example of behavioural finance in real life? ›

A key instance of behavioural finance in practice is the concept of Herd Mentality, where investors tend to follow the crowd. This behaviour is particularly common in stock market trends.

What are the two pillars of behavioural finance? ›

And yet, there is no dearth of investors making irrational decisions. Clearly, something else is at play here – cognitive bias and limits to arbitrage. These are the two pillars of behavioural finance. Both offer answers to how emotions and biases affect share prices and financial markets.

What are the two branches of behavioral finance? ›

Micro Behavioural Finance:

– This deals with the behaviour of individual investors. – In this the irrational investors are compared to rational investors (also known as hom*o economics or rational economic man) • Macro Behavioural Finance: – This deals with the drawbacks of efficient market hypothesis.

Who is the father of behavioural finance? ›

All three of these men, Amos Tversky, Daniel Kahneman, and Richard Thaler, are today considered to be among the founding fathers of behavioral finance.

What are the personality types of behavioral finance? ›

Understanding the various money personalities helps with investing, spending, saving, and finances. Five common money personalities are investors, savers, big spenders, debtors, and shoppers. Debtors and shoppers may tend to spend more money than is advisable.

What does the rule of 72 determine? ›

Do you know the Rule of 72? It's an easy way to calculate just how long it's going to take for your money to double. Just take the number 72 and divide it by the interest rate you hope to earn. That number gives you the approximate number of years it will take for your investment to double.

What are biases in behavioral finance? ›

Biases of Behavioral Finance

The data could be wrong, but as long as it fits with their views, they end up relying on it. Experiential bias: It occurs when an investor's memories or experiences from past events make them choose sides even when such a decision is not rational.

What is the content of behavioral economics? ›

Behavioral economics is the study of psychology that analyzes the economic decisions people make. Factors that affect behavior include bounded rationality, choice architecture, cognitive biases, discrimination, and herd mentality.

What are the contents of behavioral science? ›

Several disciplines fall under the broad label of behavioral science, including:
  • Anthropology.
  • Behavioral economics.
  • Cognitive psychology.
  • Consumer behavior.
  • Social psychology.
  • Sociology.

What other field of study is incorporated into behavioral finance? ›

MSc Behavioural Economics and Finance

This programme combines the intellectual rigour of a standard MSc in Economics with insights stemming from the intersection of economics, social psychology and cognition.

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