Optimal Financial Advice for Pension Products

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Introduction
• Innovation in Private Financial Consulting
  • The threat of insufficient pensions & the overregulation of the industry
  • Behavioral Finance & Influence on the problem
    • Kahneman & Tversky – Prospect Theory / Heuristics
    • Gerd Gigerenzer - Distinction of Risk and Uncertainty
    • Richard Thaler - Nudge Economics
  • The detailed role of regulations
    • Financial regulation in Germany - MiFID II - WPHG - FinVermV
    • Potential alternative - Fiduciary principle
  • Status quo in the market – Test Consultancies
    • Methodology
    • Assessment of examples
  • Reflection on the research and improvement proposals
• Conclusion

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This thesis investigates the optimal regulatory decision environment for consumers in the context of private pension consulting. It explores the challenges posed by the growing threat of insufficient pensions and the extensive regulation of the financial service industry. The work aims to analyze the effectiveness of existing regulations in Germany and assess alternative approaches inspired by behavioral finance.

• The impact of insufficient pension savings and the role of private financial consulting in addressing this issue.
• The influence of behavioral finance principles on individual decision-making in financial matters.
• An evaluation of current regulations in the German financial services industry, specifically MiFID II, WPHG, and FinVermV, and their effectiveness in promoting consumer protection.
• The potential benefits and limitations of alternative approaches, such as the fiduciary principle, in improving the decision environment for consumers.
• Exploring the status quo of private financial consulting in Germany through a methodology-driven assessment of real-world examples.

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The introduction highlights the problem of insufficient pension savings in Germany and introduces the central theme of optimal regulatory decision environments for consumers. Chapter 2 delves into the role of private financial consulting, analyzing the threat of insufficient pensions and the overregulation of the industry. It further explores the influence of behavioral finance concepts on individual decision-making and examines the details of regulations like MiFID II, WPHG, and FinVermV. Additionally, it presents a potential alternative – the fiduciary principle – and assesses the current market situation through a study of test consultancies. Chapter 3 summarizes the research findings and offers improvement proposals, while the conclusion further emphasizes the significance of the work and its implications for future research and policy decisions.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

Key concepts and terms explored in this thesis include pension saving, private financial consulting, behavioral finance, regulatory frameworks, MiFID II, WPHG, FinVermV, fiduciary principle, consumer protection, decision environments, and market research. This work aims to contribute to the discourse surrounding the optimal design of financial services regulations and the integration of behavioral finance principles to improve consumer outcomes.