Taking Stock is an entertaining documentary film that answers the questions:
Why are people so predictably bad with their finances?
What can they do about it?
Find out why from world-renowned experts, including leading researchers in behavioural finance, evolutionary biology, and an investment billionaire.
Come explore 150,000 years of human nature as the filmmakers guide us through many of our innate problems - and their varied solutions - in this hour-length movie. It's a must see for anyone interested in improving his or her life!
Chris Ballanger is a Senior VP and investment advisor in Toronto, Canada who has been consulting with clients for over two decades. During that time, he frequently noticed that emotion overrode logic in the actions of not just clients, but fellow investment professionals. Chris became convinced that there was a missing piece in the recipe of advisory practices; something was not being considered.
Around 10 years ago he came across the emerging field of behavioural economics and was instantly convinced that the field presents the missing link of investor behaviour. This insight inspired him to write a Master's thesis on how behavioural finance impacts advisory practices. It was because of this professional and academic background that he was a founding partner on this project: a film about behavioural economics that would resonate with both people inside and outside the investment industry.
Patrick Doyle is an investment advisor living in Toronto, Canada. He was inspired to make Taking Stock: Ancient Fears and Modern Greed for two reasons. First, he wanted to point out that his MBA, while quite valuable, failed to encapsulate market behaviour-- for, built into these very complex mathematical models were presumptions of rationality that did not correspond with the reality of his life as an investment professional. When he was exposed to the emerging field of behavioural finance, he became an instant convert, devouring every book on the subject he could get his hands on!
Patrick also wanted to help people understand that, when it comes to finances, they are often their own worst enemy. This film is the apex of those two desires, providing a primer on the highlights of behavioural finance, and a narrative about how individuals can overcome some of their most self-destructive tendencies.
A graduate of Ryerson's Journalism Program, Bruno Malta spent most of his journalism career working as a Business Producer/Writer for CTV Television, providing content for CTV Newsnet, Canada AM and BNN. Using his experience in the field of journalism, he made a successful transition to the world of finance and now uses his expertise and communication skills to provide his clients with financial guidance.
He was drawn to the project Taking Stock: Ancient Fears and Modern Greed because it gave him the opportunity to educate clients about how dangerous it can be to follow our own natural instincts when it comes to investing.
