When Ashley Quamme and I set out to start Trove, we felt something was missing in the industry. Specifically, we felt like advisors were missing a community that focused on practical advice and guidance on the behavioral side of financial planning. To address this, we wanted to create a space where advisors could receive specific, actionable feedback on client scenarios and ways to incorporate behavioral assessments to address challenging client situations. Most importantly, we wanted to facilitate a community that learns …
Why do so many financial planning websites include sailboats and sunsets? The idea behind this is, of course, that sailboats and sunsets may equate to a satisfied retirement or contentment in life (at least, to the target market of those firms). We want to believe that the plans we provide lead to positive financial outcomes, and in most cases, we can see objectively how those plans work out. The value of achieving financial goals …
Clients have various characteristics that influence their investment decisions. Many advisors understand that a significant part of the value of working with clients is helping them manage their mindset when it comes to investing. However, understanding investor psychology requires knowing what to measure. In the following text, we will examine several characteristics that can influence a client’s overall investor psychology, also known as behavioral risk tolerance. By measuring investor personality, advisors can identify which …
Psychometrics: Measuring Unseen Client Characteristics Psychometrics is the science and practice associated with the measurement of human characteristics. These are often referred to as “unseen” individual characteristics, including cognitive ability, personality, and knowledge. Typically, psychometricians are borne out of applied psychological and educational fields. Psychometrics has been used for over a century in a variety of fields for decision-making, counseling and coaching, and self-assessment, including, but not limited to: Clinical psychology and psychiatry Educational …
Knowledge is power, and the basis of all knowledge is having the right data. Datapoints (or, data points, if you like) are the smallest form of data. Think of them like information atoms. Alone, they’re seemingly small and insignificant. But when you combine them, you can discover trends, uncover essential information, and better understand the world around you. These minuscule particles of information can be essential to learning about others and ourselves. Here’s what …

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