CE Submission & Approval Status

Self-study CE status

Organization Status Course/Program ID
NASAA/IAR CE Self-study amendment submitted; approval pending C82533
CFP Board Pending Review 354990
Investments & Wealth Institute Submitted; approval pending 26A4AI31703

Requested: 1 credit. Submission and program IDs do not establish approval. No credit in a pending designation may be claimed until its approval and applicable completion requirements are confirmed.

Cass Sunstein’s Impact on Behavioral Finance | Self-Study IAR CE

Two Ways to Enroll

One self-study class: $39.99 one-time.

Or

$69.99 every three months for A4A Membership, including this class and access to the member class library.

$39.99 Self-Study Class
One-Time Purchase

$69.99 Membership*
Every Three Months

* A $36 FINRA administration fee is owed if you cancel within three months.

Frank Murtha, PhD, examines Cass Sunstein’s contribution to behavioral finance and its application to financial counseling. Learn how the way choices are presented can influence saving, investing and follow-through while preserving a client’s freedom to choose.

The class explores choice architecture, automatic and reflective thinking, defaults, framing, present bias, saving commitments, social norms, clearer choices, feedback and transparency. Practical examples connect these ideas to client goals and informed decisions.

Learning objectives

  1. Explain how nudges change a decision environment while preserving options and distinguish them from coercion or material financial incentives.
  2. Distinguish automatic from reflective thinking and explain how anchoring, availability and overconfidence affect financial judgment.
  3. Explain how inertia influences retirement-plan participation and distinguish a default from an informed, suitable saving decision.
  4. Compare gain and loss frames for the same financial trade-off and identify a balanced presentation for clients.
  5. Explain how present bias undermines saving and how advance commitments in Save More Tomorrow support follow-through.
  6. Distinguish useful peer information from pressure to follow an unsuitable crowd in saving and investment decisions.
  7. Organize financial options around client goals and compare their costs, risks and likely consequences clearly.
  8. Explain how timely, understandable feedback helps clients assess progress and reconsider financial decisions.
  9. Evaluate whether a proposed nudge preserves client choice and makes its purpose and financial trade-offs understandable.
  10. Select a transparent, client-centered nudge and explain how it supports follow-through while remaining aligned with the client’s goals.

How to complete the class

  1. Read the complete DOCE, including the slides and instructional text. Required reading controls the credit basis.
  2. Complete five review exercises.
  3. Pass the 10-question, open-book assessment with at least 70% within three total attempts.
  4. Submit the required course feedback.
  5. Claim the course completion certificate. Credit eligibility remains subject to the applicable approval and completion requirements.

The edited webinar replay and MP3 are optional supporting resources in the same prerequisite Class Content lesson. They do not replace the DOCE or add credit.

Course details

  • Instructor: Frank Murtha, PhD
  • Delivery: Reading-based self-study
  • Requested credit: 1
  • Requested IAR CE category: Products and Practice
  • Level: Overview/Beginner
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Advanced preparation: None
  • Audience: Financial advisors seeking practical applications of behavioral finance in client conversations.

The reading package contains 9,430 planning instructional words, excluding ADA descriptions, administrative text and other identified exclusions. Provider acceptance of the slide/OCR word-count treatment remains to be confirmed. See the status table for the separate self-study filings; no pending designation is represented as approved.

For administrative policies, refunds, cancellations or complaints, contact [email protected].

Looking for the best IAR CE bundles?

12 IAR CE credits self-study reading

Instructor(s)

Frank Murtha

Frank Murtha, who holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, has taught at The City University of New York, Penn State, and New York University. In 2001, Dr. Murtha co-founded MarketPsych Inc., a statistically valid assessment for identifying investor personality traits, and he consults to institutional investors on macro- and micro-behavioral economics. In early 2021, he co-founded Financial Counseling Institute.