Planning Briefs

(Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020; 9:00 PM EST) Rearranging placement of foods increases or decreases their consumption by as much as 25%.

To be clear, workers at cafeterias and restaurants have a lot of influence over food choices made by diners.  First documented in a bestselling book in 2008, Nudge, by Richard Thaler, winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize for Economics, and Cass Sunstein, founder of Harvard Law School's Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy, the science of decision engineering is an exciting new field.

"Decision engineers" determine how people behave when they walk into a store, the order of an online menus, and whether batteries, disinfectant or The Enquirer are showcased on a retail checkout line, virtually on the Web and in the real brick and mortar retail world.

When a cafeteria encourages healthy choices by placing fruit before French toast, Messrs. Thaler and Sunstein call it a form of paternalism; it's literally what your parents would want for you.

Financial consumers should scrutinize the choices they are given by brokerage firms and retirement plans. Investment advice platforms may be driven by what makes you click and may not nudge you toward the healthiest choice for achieving your goals in life.

Contact us for a paternalistic array of choices for achieving your financial goals.

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