Efficacemente - the Neuroscience Lab video to explain the link between neuroscience and finance

12 September 2022
Applied Research, NS Lab

Neuroscience Lab and Scuola IMT Alti Studi Lucca, together with Fideuram, have created an informative training video on financial education and the relationship between consultants and clients

Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center collaborates with other Group structures to promote innovation as a positive driver in people's lives. With this spirit, Neuroscience Lab, Scuola IMT Alti Studi Lucca and Società Fideuram have created Efficacemente, a video-interview given to the journalist Irene Zerbini of Radio 24.

The video, also used for the training of Fideuram people, explores how neuroscience is useful for financial education and for building effective consultant-client relationships.

Neuroscience as a Financial Advisory Tool

"What we can give with neuroscience is a travel kit" explained Sonia D'Arcangelo - Head of Neuroscience Lab Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, referring to how the study of the mind can help to better understand dynamics related to behavioral finance and financial counseling.

"There are some financial choices that we can make intuitively, almost impulsively" said Emiliano Ricciardi - professor at IMT Alti Studi Lucca, who then underlined that there are also more complex cases where it is possible to influence decisions by observing how the individual processes information.

The theory of mind is, for example, a useful tool for counseling: it is the ability to attribute beliefs and intentions to another person, understanding that others have different mental states. When there is harmony between two people, this ability turns into empathy and brain waves reach similar frequencies, that can also be seen in electroencephalography.

"It is not certain that a consultant should be suitable for all customers" said D'Arcangelo "You can make questionnaires or algorithms to select, based on the characteristics of both the consultant and the customers, what is the best alchemy ".