Practical analysis for investment professionals
06 June 2013

Trust: The Core of Client Relationship Management

How trustworthy are you? How rational are you? Most of us think that we are more trustworthy and more rational than the average person, yet as a whole, we tend to rate others as less than average in these categories. How is that possible? At the 66th CFA Institute Annual Conference in Singapore, corporate training consultant Lim How, the author of two books about motivation, explained his model of human behavior by using a business perspective and a psychological one. His aim: to help investment professionals better understand the drivers of strong relationships.

The business, or economic, perspective put forward by How, an expert in the fields of critical thinking, leadership, and human relations, suggests that people are primarily rational, objective, and self-interested. The psychological perspective, however, holds that behavior is influenced both by rational and psychological factors. In the latter case, rationality is influenced by social contexts. In other words, what is rational to one person may seem irrational to another.

How emphasized — rightly, perhaps, given his audience of financial analysts — the distinction between mathematical rationality and human rationality. His thesis bears a strong resemblance to the burgeoning body of work in finance and economics that allows for behavioral elements in decision-making versus the pillar of classic economic theory, which holds that humans (aka “Homo economicus”) always maintain a robotic alliance to math and probability.

Continue reading on the 66th CFA Institute Annual Conference blog

About the Author(s)
Rob Gowen, CFA

Robert Gowen, CFA, was Head of Product Solutions at CFA Institute, where he oversaw a team of content directors that contribute daily. Prior to joining CFA Institute, he worked in the institutional investment industry for BB&T and Fidelity Investments. Gowen earned a BA in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia.

2 thoughts on “Trust: The Core of Client Relationship Management”

  1. inder kapoor says:

    Hi, I am a CFA Level 3 Candidate and an avid reader of this blog. Could you please me the name of the books written by Mr. Lim How?

    Thanks & Regards

    Inder Kapoor

  2. Louise Matthews says:

    You need a more unique twitter id to link with CFA, perhaps – RGowen_CFA

    Keep up the good work,
    Louise x

Leave a Reply to inder kapoor Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *



By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close