My research in financial planning is primarily focused on imporving evidence-based practice in retirement planning, including optimal retirement investing and income, life satisfaction, and risk tolerance. In addition to retirement planning, I have written book chapters and conducted research in the areas of behavioral finance, diversity in financial planning, and the regulation of financial advice.
For questions related to research, please email me at michael.finke@theamericancollege.edu
Selected Publications
"Change is a Good Thing” with David Blanchett and James Licato. Financial Analysts Journal, 2020, 76(1), 20-37.
“Low Returns and Optimal Retirement Savings,” with David Blanchett and Wade Pfau, Oxford, in Saving and Retirement in an Uncertain Financial Environment, Olivia Mitchell, ed. UK: Oxford University Press, 2018.
“Old Age and the Decline in Financial Literacy”, with John Howe and Sandra J. Huston, Management Science, 2016, 63(1), 213-230.
“The 4 Percent Rule is Not Safe in a Low-Yield World”, with David Blanchett and Wade Pfau, Journal of Financial Planning, 2013, 26(6), 46-55.
Retirement Income Planning
“Planning for a More Expensive Retirement”, with David Blanchett and Wade Pfau, Journal of Financial Planning, 2017, 30(3), 42-51.
“Spending in Retirement: Determining the Consumption Gap”, with Christopher Browning, Yuanshan Cheng, and Tao Guo. Journal of Financial Planning, 2016, 29(2), 42-53.
“Models of Financial Advice for Retirement Plans: Considerations for Plan Sponsors”, with Ben Cummings, Society of Actuaries Research Report, 2014.
“A Comparison of Retirement Strategies and Financial Planner Value”, with Terrance K. Martin, Journal of Financial Planning, 2014, 27(11), 46-53.
“Asset Valuations and Safe Portfolio Withdrawal Rates”, David Blanchett and Wade Pfau, Retirement Management Journal, 2014, 4(1), 21-34.
“Time Preference and the Importance of Saving for Retirement”, with Sandra J. Huston, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2013, 89, 23-34.
“Low Bond Yields and Safe Portfolio Withdrawal Rates”, with David Blanchett and Wade Pfau, Journal of Wealth Management, 2013, 16(2), 55-62.
“Spending Flexibility and Safe Withdrawal Rates” with Wade Pfau and Duncan Williams, Journal of Financial Planning, 2012, 25(3), 44-51.
“Determining Optimal Withdrawal Rates: An Economic Approach” with Duncan Williams, Retirement Management Journal, 2012, 1(2), 35-46.
Risk Tolerance
“The Effect of Investment and Withdrawal Horizons on Myopic Loss Aversion” with David Blanchett and Michael Guillemette, Applied Economics Letters, 2019, 26(10), 787-790.
“Assessing a Client’s Risk Profile: A Review of Solution Providers”, with Shawn Brayman, John Grable, and Paul Griffin, Journal of Financial Service Professionals, 2017, 71(1), 71-81.
“Do Large Swings in Equity Values Change Risk Tolerance?”, with Michael Guillemette, Journal of Financial Planning, 2014, 27(6), 44-51.
“Risk Tolerance Questions to Best Determine Client Portfolio Allocation Preferences”, with John Gilliam and Michael Guillemette, Journal of Financial Planning, 2012, 25(5), 34-42.
“Assessing Risk Tolerance”, with Sherman Hanna and Michael Guillemette, Portfolio Theory and Management, Oxford University Press, New York, 2012
“The Concept of Risk Tolerance in Personal Financial Planning”, with Sherman Hanna and William Waller, Journal of Personal Finance, 2008, 7(1), 96-108.
“The Brighter Side of Financial Risk: Financial Risk Tolerance and Wealth” with Sandra J. Huston, Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 2003, 24(3): 233-256.
Financial Literacy
“The Unsophisticated ‘Sophisticated’: Old Age and the Accredited Investors Definition” with Tao Guo and Sandra Huston. Financial Planning Review, forthcoming.
“Old Age and the Decline in Investment Performance” with Sandra Huston. In Financial Education and Risk Literacy, Riccardo Viale, ed., Max Planck Institute, Elgar Publishing, 2021.
“The Effect of Advanced Age and Equity Values on Risk Preferences,” with David Blanchett and Michael Guillemette, Journal of Behavioral Finance, 2018, 19(4), 434-441.
“Cognitive Ability and Post-Retirement Asset Decumulation”, with Christopher Browning and Sandra J. Huston, Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 2016, 37(2), 242-253.
“Cognitive ability and the stock reallocations of retirees during the great recession,” with Christopher Browning, Journal of Consumer Affairs, 2015, 49(2), 356-375.
“Financial Literacy and Education” with Sandra J. Huston, Investor Behavior – The Psychology of Financial Planning and Investing, John Wiley & Sons, 2013.
“Financial Literacy and Shrouded Credit Card Rewards”, with Sandra J. Huston and Laura Ricaldi, Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 2013, 18, 177-187.
“Financial Sophistication and Housing Leverage Among Older Households”, with Sandra J. Huston and Hyrum Smith, Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 2012, 33, 315-327.
“Rational Choice of Complex Products: Consumer Valuation of Annuities”, with Sandra J. Huston and Christopher Browning, Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 2012, 23(2), 32-45.
“A Financial Sophistication Proxy for the Survey of Consumer Finances”, with Sandra J. Huston and Hyrum Smith, Applied Economics Letters, 2012, 19(13), 1275-1278.
“The Influence of Financial Sophistication and Financial Planners on Roth IRA Ownership”, with Sandra J. Huston and Hyrum Smith, Journal of Financial Services Professionals, 2012, 66(6), 69-81.
“The Impact of Financial Sophistication on Adjustable-Rate Mortgage Ownership” with Sandra J. Huston and Hyrum Smith, Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 2011, 22(2), 3-15.
Annuitization
“How Competitive are Income Annuity Providers Over Time” with David Blanchett and Branislav Nikolic. Risk Management and Insurance Review, 2021, 24(2), 207-214.
“Should Annuities Be Purchased from Tax-Sheltered Assets?” with David Blanchett. Journal of Financial Services Professionals, 2019, 73(6).
"Annuitized Income and Optimal Equity Allocation." with David Blanchett. Journal of Financial Planning, 2018, 31 (11), 48-56.
“Deferred Income Annuities before Retirement”, with Wade Pfau, Journal of Financial Planning, 2015, 28(7), 40-49.
Diversity & Financial Planning
“Race, Trust, and Retirement Decisions”, with Terrance K. Martin and Phillip Gibson, Journal of Personal Finance, 2014, 13(2), 62-71.
“Do Mutual Funds Marketed to African American Investors Extract Excess Rent?”, with Phillip Gibson, Journal of Index Investing, 2013, 4(1), 45-50.
“Does Home Equity Explain the Black Wealth Gap?”, with Ajamu C. Loving and John R. Salter, Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 2012, 27(4), 427-451.
“Explaining the 2004 Decrease in Minority Stock Ownership” with Ajamu C. Loving and John R. Salter, The Review of Black Political Economy, 2012, 39(4), 403-425.
Regulation and Trust
“Advisor Beliefs Regarding Effective Life Insurance Disclosure”, with Barry Mulholland and John Gilliam. Journal of Financial Services Professionals, 2015, 69(3), 55-73.
“Trust: A factor in Portfolio Composition”, with Jacob P. Sybrowsky and Hyrum Smith, Journal of Financial Planning, 2014, 27(12), 54-61.
“Fiduciary Standard: Findings from the Academic Literature”, Investment and Wealth Monitor, 2013, Sep/Oct, 52-62.
“Compensation and Client Wealth Among U.S. Investment Advisors”, with Luke Dean, Financial Services Review, 2012, 21(2), 81-94.
“The Impact of the Broker-Dealer Fiduciary Standard on Financial Advice”, with Tom Langdon, Journal of Financial Planning, 2012, 25(7), 28-37.
“Regulating Household Financial Advice” with Benjamin F. Cummings, Journal of Governance and Regulation, 2012, 1(3), 50-54.
“Investor Prudence and the Role of Financial Advice”, with Sandra J. Huston and Danielle D. Winchester, Journal of Financial Services Professionals, 2011, 65(4), 43-51.
“Financial Advice: Who Pays?” with Sandra J. Huston and Danielle D. Winchester, Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 2011, 22(1), 18-26.
“Do Contracts Impact Comprehensive Financial Advice?”, with Sandra J. Huston and William Waller, Financial Services Review, 2009, 18(2), 177-193.
“Bad Choices in Efficient Markets: A Justification for Household Finance Research”, Journal of Personal Finance, 2006, 4(4), 48-55.
Behavioral Finance
“Investor Attention and Advisor Social Media Interaction”, with Tao Guo and Barry Mulholland, Applied Economics Letters, 2015, 22(4), 261-265.
“Investor Preference for Skewness and the Incubation of Mutual Funds”, with Phillip Gibson, Financial Services Review, 2014, 23(1), 63-75.
“The Impact of Self-Efficacy on Wealth Accumulation and Portfolio Choice”, with Swarnankur Chatterjee, and Nathan Harness Applied Economics Letters, 2011, 18(7), 627-631.
“Wealth Creation: Does Self Esteem Matter?”, with Swarnankur Chatterjee, and Nathan Harness, Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 2009, 10(2), 11-24.
“The Mitigating Influence of Time Preference on the Relation between Smoking and BMI Scores”, with Sandra J. Huston and Cliff A. Robb, International Journal of Obesity, 2008, 32, 1670-1677.
“Time Orientation and Economics”, Understanding Behavior in the Context of Time: Theory, Research, and Application. Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers. 2005.
“Risk and Myopic Financial Decisions”, with Sandra J. Huston, Journal of Personal Finance, 2004, 3(3): 99-112.
General Financial Planning & Other Topics
“The Value of Delayed Social Security Claiming for Higher-Earning Women” with Sophia Duffy and David Blanchett. Journal of Financial Services Professionals, forthcoming.
“Financial Software Use and Retirement Savings”, with Qianwen Bi and Sandra J. Huston, Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 2017, 28(1), 107-128.
“The Impact of Product Knowledge and Quality of Care on Long-term Care Insurance Demand: Evidence from the HRS,” Journal of Personal Finance, 2017, 16(2), 48-61.
“Understanding the Shift in Demand for Cash Value Life Insurance”, with Barry Mulholland and Sandra J. Huston, Risk Management and Insurance Review, 2016, 19(1), 7-36.
“Financial Advice: Does it Make a Difference?” The Market for Retirement Financial Advice. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2013.
“The Demand for Disability Insurance”, with Janine Scott, Financial Services Review, 2013, 22(1), 1-12.
“The Impact of Passive Investing on Corporate Valuations”, with Eric Belasco and David Nanigian, Managerial Finance, 2012, 38(11), 1067-1084.
“Individual Property Risk Management”, with Eric Belasco and Sandra J. Huston, Journal of Probability and Statistics, 2010, Article ID 805309, 11 pages.
“Household Investment Asset Variation and Wealth”, with Swarnankur Chatterjee, and Nathan Harness, International Journal of Business and Finance Research, 2010, 4(2), 1-12.
“The Effects of the Capital Accumulation Ratio on Wealth”, with Swarnankur Chatterjee, and Nathan Harness, Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 2009, 20(1), 44-57.
“Social Security: Who Wants Private Accounts?”, with Swarnankur Chatterjee, Financial Services Review, 2008, 17(4), 289-307.
“Household Financial Ratios: A Review of Literature”, with Swarnankur Chatterjee, and Nathan Harness, Journal of Personal Finance, 2007, 6(4), 77-97.
“Balance Sheets of Early Boomers: Are They Different From Pre-Boomers?”, with Sandra J. Huston and Deanna L. Sharpe, Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 2006, 27(3), 542-561.
“Precautionary Savings Behavior of Martially-Stressed Couples”, with Nancy Pierce. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 2006, 34(3), 223-240.
“Characteristics of Recent Adjustable-rate Mortgage Borrowers”, with Mel Corlija, Sandra J. Huston and Emilian Siman, Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 2005, 16(2), 17-28.