People Prefer To Invest With An Attractive Person Rather Than A Trustworthy OneReported by Business Insider on Wednesday, 16 May 2012 (on May 16, 2012)
|
 Looks matter more than reputation when we entrust others with our money, according to a study by Warwick Business School in London.
Using 20 pairs of neutral Caucasian faces, researchers altered trustees' features using Facegen software to make them look less or more trustworthy. The picture on the right gives a sense of what characteristics were seen as trustworthy ((big eyes, raised eyebrows, a slight smile versus a frown, downcast eyes and a narrow gaze.)
Volunteers were then given money and asked to choose which face to entrust their money to. On average 13 of the 15 participants invested with people who looked more trustworthy.
"Trustees with good and bad and histories benefitted equally from trustworthy-looking facial features," said Dr. Chris Olivola. "The temptation to judge strangers by their faces is hard to resist ... we are still willing to go with our instincts about whether we think somone looks like we can trust them."
If you're concerned about getting screwed out of your money, here are some quick ways to tell your broker is shady per YM contributor Rob Pegoraro:
*They're a generalist.* Anyone who works will "all ages and backgrounds" should raise a red flag. "No one can be all things to all people and be really good at his job," says Pegoraro.
*Useless advice.* A good, proactive adviser won't give you excuses, he'll give you answers. If he's been saying the same thing since 2008, it's time to ditch him.
*Basing plans on hope.* This is like basing your retirement savings on thin air. "Your income and lifestyle shouldn't depend on the markets, they should depend on math," Pegoraro says. "Work with a specialist who builds an income plan using quantifiable mathmatics."
-Now check out this site which helps you see if your broker is wasting your money > -
Please follow Your Money on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story »
Links:  Full news story
|
|
|
| Recent related news |
| |
guardian.co.uk
21 hours ago | The government should kill its absurd rail plan and lay an optical fibre network – it's cheaper and... |
Zero Hedge
22 hours ago | · Obama's Counsel Was Told of IRS Audit Findings Weeks Ago (WSJ)
· North Korea fires sixth missile... |
guardian.co.uk
2 days ago | Ted Cullinan, the veteran architect behind a new Maggie's centre in Newcastle, talks about his... |
guardian.co.uk
3 days ago | A fully paid-up member of the rowdy YBA generation in the 90s, the artist made his name with his... |
guardian.co.uk
3 days ago | Are sharents – parents who blog, tweet and post pictures about all aspects of their children's... |
| |
DailyFinance
4 days ago | Filed under: Investing
*JPMorgan Chase* CEO Jamie Dimon began his most recent letter to... |
guardian.co.uk
4 days ago | The BBC is missing a trick with the way entrants are selected and could do worse than following... |
PRWeb
4 days ago | Property investment expert Rick Otton warns that increasing levels of international institutional... |
Huffington Post
5 days ago | It's not personal, or indeed political. But just as David Cameron, my country-of-origin's current... |
| |
|
|
Facebook
E-mail
Twitter
Mixx
StumbleUpon
FriendFeed