Behavioural Finance Training Course

Introduction

The Behavioural Finance Training Course explores how human behaviour, cognitive biases, and emotional responses influence financial decisions across markets and organisations. While traditional financial theory assumes rationality, today’s environment shows that markets often move according to sentiment, perception, and psychological triggers. Understanding these behavioural patterns is now essential for professionals who make or advise on financial decisions. This Behavioural Finance Course provides an in-depth view of how investor psychology shapes market reactions and how emotions can distort judgement. Participants learn why biases occur, how they affect investment outcomes, and how behavioural tendencies influence risk perception, valuation, and long-term strategic choices. This knowledge is vital for reducing errors, improving portfolio performance, and aligning decisions with economic realities. The course also examines emotional finance, risk psychology, and behavioural corporate finance, offering a comprehensive foundation for analysing market behaviour. By connecting theory with real-world examples, the training gives professionals the clarity needed to interpret market cycles, anticipate behavioural shifts, and strengthen decision-making frameworks. This makes the Behavioural Finance Training Course an essential learning experience for those aiming to enhance financial judgement in complex and unpredictable markets.

Objectives

This Behavioural Finance Training Course strengthens participants’ understanding of the psychological and emotional factors that shape financial markets. Through practical examples and case-based analysis, the course enables professionals to identify biases, interpret investor behaviour, and apply behavioural insights to improve financial decisions.

By the end of this training course, participants will be able to:

• Define behavioural finance and understand its implications on financial markets
• Identify investor psychology and analyse common trading biases
• Understand cognitive biases and explore their root causes using real examples
• List major emotional biases and discuss their impact on judgement
• Understand loss aversion and related behavioural tendencies
• Study herding bias and evaluate social influences on decision-making
• Recognise how behavioural factors distort market efficiency and price movements

Training Methodology

This Behavioural Finance Training Course uses a practical, interactive learning approach designed to enhance understanding and facilitate real-world application. Participants engage in case studies, discussions, and structured exercises that reinforce behavioural concepts and highlight how psychological biases manifest in financial decisions.

Methods include:

• Interactive real-world case studies
• Discussion and evaluation of international behavioural finance techniques
• Role-play exercises to understand biases in action
• Pre-course and post-course assessments
• Supporting handouts and examples in both printed and digital formats

These techniques ensure participants are actively involved, improving retention and strengthening their ability to recognise and manage behavioural influences in financial practice.

Who Should Attend?

This Behavioural Finance Course is ideal for professionals whose roles require interpreting financial behaviour, analysing decisions, or understanding how psychological patterns influence markets. It is also valuable for those seeking deeper insight into investor motivations and risk perception.

It will greatly benefit:

• Board-level members seeking clarity on cognitive influences behind financial decisions
• Investment professionals working within the financial sector
• Risk management directors
• Financial analysts and market researchers
• Capital markets officials
• Professionals aiming to strengthen knowledge in behavioural finance
• Equity sales teams and portfolio managers

Course Outline

Day 1: Introduction to Behavioral Finance

•  Conceptual definition of finance: Hard versus Soft Finance 
• Understand the financial system operators: Arbitrageurs, Speculators and Hedgers
•  What is behavioral finance?
• Traditional portfolio theory – A brief recap
• The risk profiles of investors: Risk neutral, Risk Takers and Risk Adverse
•  Market sentiment & Stock market crashes

Day 2: Behavioural Finance: Application of Psychology in Financial Decisions

• Heuristics or Rules of Thumb
•  Neuroeconomics and Neurofinance
•  Emotional Finance: The Role of the Unconscious in Financial Decisions
•  Experimental Finance
• The Psychology of Risk
• Psychological Influences on Financial Regulation and Policy 

Day 3: Asset Pricing and Behavioural Biases

• Market Inefficiency
•  Belief- and Preference-Based Models
• Disposition Effect
• Overconfidence
• Familiarity Bias
• Limited Attention & other behavioral biases

Day 4:  Behavioural Corporate Finance

• Financing Decisions
• Capital Budgeting and Other Investment Decisions
• Dividend Policy Decisions
• Loyalty, Agency Conflicts, and Corporate Governance
• Initial Public Offerings
• Mergers and Acquisitions

Day 5:  Investor Behaviour

• Trust Behavior: The Essential Foundation of Financial Markets
• Individual Investor Trading
• Cognitive Abilities and Financial Decisions
• Pension Participant Behavior
• Institutional Investors
• Derivative Markets