Behavioural finance expert Meir Statman has joined the investment committee of Wellington West Capital Inc. to provide investment analysis and education for Wellington West investment advisors and their clients, the firm announced on Monday.

Statman is the Glenn Klimek Professor of Finance at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University in California. His research studies how investors and managers make decisions, and how these decisions are reflected in financial markets.

“Investors are looking for thought-leadership during these trying economic times,” said Sam Pellettieri, chief investment officer at Wellington West Asset Management Inc. “Meir’s award-winning research combines the sciences of finance and psychology to understand the cognitive errors of normal investors, their emotions and their goals. Our aim is to educate our clients, guide them toward achievement of their goals and promote both wealth and well-being.”

Some of the areas of Statman’s research include the ways financial advisors and plan sponsors serve investors, the nature of risk and regret, how investors form portfolios, the relative success of tactical asset allocation and strategic asset allocation, the determining factors of stock returns, the effects of sentiment and the efficacy of socially responsible investments.

“I am pleased to be associated with an award-winning firm such as Wellington West,” said Statman in a statement. “This is a firm that is demonstrating leadership by taking their clients to the frontiers of science and guiding them toward their goals.”

Statman’s research has been published in The Journal of Finance, The Journal of Financial Economics and the Journal of Portfolio Management, among others. Statman is also an Associate Editor of the Journal of Financial Research and the Journal of Behavioral Finance. His research has been supported by the Research Foundation of the CFA Institute and the Investment Management Consultants Association.

IE