Proposal for a Practical Implementation of Maslowian Portfolio Theory
Proposal for a Practical Implementation of Maslowian Portfolio Theory

Summary/Abstract: For many centuries, investing in financial markets was only for the very rich. However, since the Second World War it has become both possible and necessary for larger parts of the population to make investment decisions. “Possible,” because wealth became more equally distributed and “necessary,” because of the increase in life expectancy and the need to provide an (extra) income during retirement. In Europe it was MiFID I while in the United States it was FINRA Rule 2111 that gave direction to financial advisers. Intheir individual ways, both regulations state that they expect good care on the part of the advisor, but they do not specify what good investment advice looks like. Thus, investment advisers looked back to a sixty year old theory (Mean Variance Theory from H. Markovitz) that treated money as the only and ultimate life goal and proposed selection of a single investment portfolio based on efficiency in terms of “risk” (variance) and return for each investor. The postulated “optimal variance” was called the “risk profile.” The paper proposes that investments be used to attain real life goals. In doing so, it becomes obvious that investments should be molded around and created as a function of these goals. Therefore, it becomes natural to have multiple sub-portfolios, each with its own risk profile. With respect to the Maslowian Portfolio Theory, the author adds a framework that puts emphasis on needs and, in a natural way, applies a hierarchy to goals as well as making sure that no goals are missed. The aim of the paper is to propose a practical implementation of the Maslowian Portfolio Theory as well as to study its impact.

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