CFP Board Center for Financial Planning Hosts 2021 Academic Research Colloquium for Financial Planning

The CFP Board Center for Financial Planning (“Center”) today announced that the fifth annual Academic Research Colloquium (“Colloquium”) for financial planning and related disciplines will be held virtually on November 11-12 and 15-16, 2021. Tickets are available to purchase for $49 and many of the Colloquium’s sessions will be eligible for Continuing Education (CE) credit.

The Colloquium is an initiative of the Center for Financial Planning, in collaboration with the Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB) and FP Canada. It is an international meeting of researchers, practitioners, graduate students and leaders of the financial planning practice.

“Now in our fifth year, the Colloquium brings renowned researchers from around the world to present their work on investments, psychology, behavioral finance and other financial planning-related fields to both scholars and practitioners,” said CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE. “This year we are honored to have speakers addressing behavioral economics and psychology of financial decision making—two timely and important areas that affect the financial planning profession. We look forward to reviewing research at the event and announcing the recipients of the best paper awards.”

Research Papers

The 2021 Colloquium maintains a very competitive acceptance rate for research papers within financial planning and related academic disciplines. This year’s acceptance rate was the lowest ever, at 18%, compared to 25% in 2020.

“The 2021 Colloquium was not only the most competitive field for academic papers, but also promises to be the largest with an open invitation to 90,000+ CFP® professionals and financial planning-related researchers from around the world,” said CFP Board Center for Financial Planning Managing Director D.A. Abrams, CAE.

This year 28 research papers were accepted from researchers, including:

• 21 from Ivy League institutions, leading U.S. research universities, and financial planning programs of study.
• Seven from international institutions from Canada, France, Switzerland, Singapore, and China.

At the Colloquium, the Center will announce the recipients of the seven best paper awards.

Speakers and Topics

Colloquium attendees will hear from high-profile keynote speakers, presenters and panelists, who will spotlight topics regarding behavioral economics and the psychology of financial decision making. Keynote speakers will include:

• John Beshears, Ph.D.- Professor of Business Administration in the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit at Harvard Business School
• Marie-Hélène Broihanne, Ph.D.- Professor of Finance and researcher at LaRGE Research Center of University of Strasbourg
• Wade D. Pfau, Ph.D., CFA, RICP, program director of the Retirement Income Certified Professional designation and a Professor of Retirement Income at The American College of Financial Services, and
• Suzanne B. Shu, Ph.D- the John S. Dyson Professor of Marketing at Cornell University’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management.

All sessions will bring together world-class researchers and practitioners from around the world to discuss financial planning-related topics such as:

• Psychology and Human decision making
• Behavioral finance
• Consumer finance and regulation
• Portfolio Choice
• Household Finance
• Financial Therapy
• Literacy and Wellness
• Human Science, and
• Implications of research on financial planning.

Colloquium Sponsors

The colloquium is made possible with support from premier sponsor Merrill, major sponsors Ballentine Partners, Capital Group, and Vanguard, benefactor sponsors FARE, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley, champion sponsor Wealthspire, supporting sponsors LPL and Facet Wealth, and contributor sponsor, FlexShares. CFP Board also wants to express its deep appreciation to the Center’s founding sponsors, Northwestern Mutual, Envestnet and Charles Schwab Foundation, in partnership with Schwab Advisor Services.

More information on the Colloquium, including agenda and registration information, can be found on CFP Board’s website.