Neurofinance

The Association of Women in Finance (AWF) had the pleasure of hosting Stephanie Sharp of Ferax Consulting Corp. as our featured guest and speaker at the May Fireside Chat. Our last series of the year were held at the offices of McCarthy Tetrault LLP with guests treated to drinks, appetizers and an evening of networking and dialogue moderated by Teresa (Terri) Dickson, AWF Director and VP, Dickson Wealth Management.

With over 15 years of experience training hundreds of executives, directors and business owners, Stephanie brought a refreshing perspective and, for some of us in the audience, clarity on what exactly neurofinance is about. Emerging from the field of behavioural economics, neurofinance explores why we make the financial decisions that we do – the “brain science of financial decision-making”. Discussing neurofinance through the lens of bubbles, breakthroughs and bias, Stephanie illustrated how understanding the main influences and drivers for financial decision-making lends insight into what ultimately creates value for people.

Using the 5-part framework (and a helpful acronym, SCARF), Stephanie empowered the audience with greater self-awareness and a list of key factors influencing the social brain: Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness and Fairness. She also emphasized the importance of knowing your audience and using neurofinance as a tool to help achieve more “aha” moments.

For those interested in learning more, Stephanie has recently launched a program designed to gain a new perspective on how to train, disrupt and transform a business using behaviour-driven financial tools. Click here for more information.

A heartfelt thank you to all the attendees, our sponsor, McCarthy Tetrault LLP, our guest speaker, Stephanie Sharp, and our moderator, Terri Dickson, for another successful evening in the AWF Fireside Chat series!