Every moment of every day you collect information about yourself and financial matters.

What information you collect, whether consciously or unconsciously, is a subjective process. That is, there is information available that simply won’t make it through your mental filters.

Once information is collected, you then have the opportunity to make decisions based on the information collected. The decisions you make are influenced by a range of factors, such as your past experience, your values, and what you’ve come to believe is the appropriate way to behave. Sometimes these factors lead to beneficial financial behaviour, sometimes not.

Importantly, different people bring in information in different ways, and also decide in different ways. Accordingly, all decision making, and therefore behavioural orientations are personal and subjective. It’s these differences that lead to diversity, which can bring conflict but can also bring great value as we can gain a greater appreciation of opportunities or approaches which we may have otherwise missed.