Publications
Throughout Jason Apollo Voss, CFA’s career he has put his wisdom, intelligence, and energy into projects that advance the investment industry. These include with deception scientists conducting history’s first scientific research into the deception detection capabilities of investment pros, and the publication of Lie Detection Guide: Theory & Practice for Investment Professionals.
Typically he chooses projects that are unlike any other offerings available from other sources. For example, along with some of the globe’s most important criminal justice professionals he conducted history’s first lie detection research in the investment industry. Similarly, no book had ever been written about the subject of generating investment ideas, which led to the publication of an industry-first guide, The Investment Idea Generation Guide. Likewise, no tome exists that identifies the powerful benefits of meditation for investment professionals, which led to the creation of the online course, Meditation Guide for Investment Professionals. Last, his book, The Intuitive Investor: A Radical Guide for Manifesting Wealth was the industry’s first book about the critical, but often overlooked, power of intuition in aiding investment decision-making.
2 February 2021 A criticism of behavioral finance is that it lacks an overarching theory. Namely, that it is just a long list of quirks and oddities logged by scientists about human behavior, but without an explanation for why they exist, or what to do with the insights revealed through the many experiments done in service to behavioral finance. Furthermore, a lack of a theory limits behavioral finance from making specific predictions about future outcomes. In turn, this means that behavioral finance is just short of being a science. This work seeks to rectify this situation, as well as to have behavioral finance replace the failed investment paradigm of Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT).
A Theory of Behavioral Finance
•A•I•M• Consulting, LLC
Co-author: C. Thomas Howard 29 October 2019 In this groundbreaking book, investing and behavioral finance experts Thomas Howard and Jason A. Voss fill a void and show the new way ahead for investment managers and advisors. Return of the Active Manager provides a set of tools for investment professionals to overcome and take advantage of behavioral biases. Across seven compelling chapters, Return of the Active Manager details actionable advice on topics such as behaviorally-enhanced fundamental analysis, active equity fund evaluation and selection, harnessing big data, and investment firm structure. You learn how to exploit behavioral price distortions, how to recognize and avoid behavioral biases (in both yourself and clients), how to extract behavioral insights from the executives of prospective investments, and how manager behavior can be used to predict future fund performance.
Return of the Active Manager: How to apply behavioral finance to renew and improve investment management
Harriman House Publishing
CFA Institute Co-authors: Roger Urwin, Rebecca Fender, Robert Stammers 1 May 2018 Investment firms face a future in which change is accelerating. In this report, we set out the changing landscape for investment management and analyze how firms can adapt their models to succeed in this fast-changing environment.Investment Firm of the Future: Alternative Business Models and Strategies for a More Forward-Thinking Industry
CFA Institute Co-authors: Roger Urwin, Rebecca Fender, Robert Stammers 3 April 2017 The investment management industry is facing significant disruptive forces, internally and externally. Shifting regulatory environments and new macroeconomic conditions in addition to current trends in digitization and commoditization and new tech-centric business models will necessitate changes in the industry. The Future State of the Investment Profession study explores what these changes might look like and identifies ways to influence the future state of the profession for best possible outcomes.Future State of the Investment Profession
Journal of Behavioral Finance Co-authors: Maria Hartwig, PhD, Laure Brimbal, PhD, and D. Brian Wallace, PhD 8 February 2017 In the first empirical study on the topic, the authors examined the ability of investment professionals to distinguish between truthful and deceptive statements. A random sample of 154 investment professionals made judgments about a series of truthful and deceptive statements, some of which involved financial fraud. Investment professionals’ lie detection accuracy was poor; participants performed no better than would be expected by chance. Accuracy in identifying lies about financial fraud was especially poor. Further, participants displayed poor metacognitive realism when assessing their own performance. The theoretical and practical implications for lie detection in the financial industry are discussed.“Investment Professionals’ Ability to Detect Deception: Accuracy, Bias and Metacognitive Realism”
CFA Institute Co-author: Maria Hartwig, PhD 22 January 2017 How can you tell truth from lies as an investment professional? Success for experienced fundamental investors frequently relies on critical conversations with the management of businesses whose securities you purchase. Even in private wealth management, success requires that you receive honest answers to important personal questions from your clients, such as whether they are risk averse or risk takers. CFA Institute worked with criminal justice professionals for more than five years to research and create the tools necessary for investment professionals to better discern truth from lies from those you rely on. Hint: Lie detection does not require a knowledge of body language cues—this is a pan-cultural myth not verified by science. Lie Detection Guide: Theory and Practice for Investment Professionals explains what techniques work and how you can apply those every day.Lie Detection Guide: Theory and Practice for Investment Professionals
CFA Institute 24 August 2016 Why is meditation relevant to investment managers? It can help reduce stress, improve mental focus and creativity, promote ethical behavior, and overcome behavioral biases. The CFA Institute Meditation Guide seeks to provide an interactive, engaging environment in which investment professionals can explore the benefits of a meditation practice. Fifty-nine percent of the CFA Institute global membership has expressed interest in meditation. Because our goal is to provide our members with tools and resources to help manage their needs in an ever-changing industry, bringing to light the impact a successful meditation practice can have on the career of an investment professional is necessary. This guide, which explains and promotes the benefits of meditation, can serve as a framework for the beginnings of a meditation practice for investment professionals.
Meditation Guide for Investment Professionals
CFA Institute Co-author: Sloane Ortel 11 December 2015 CFA Institute’s Investment Idea Generation Guide is a first-of-its-kind-anywhere guide to help investment professionals develop that most precious of things: a unique investment idea. After all, if you want to earn higher investment returns than your peers, you must do what they (and you) are not doing already. But how do you do this? If you are having difficulty identifying new investment ideas, it’s not because the world got smaller and less complex; it is likely because how you look at the world has become less flexible, more ritualized, and less creative. So, the Investment Idea Generation Guide provides practical tools for investment professionals to activate and improve their creativity, because doing what no one else is doing is creativity. Creativity = alpha. Every topic in the CFA® Program curriculum assumes that you already have an investment idea that you then subject to the classic tools of financial analysis. But what about the initial idea itself? Where does that come from? Our new Investment Idea Generation Guide can help redress this oversight.Investment Idea Generation Guide
Journal of Behavioral Finance Co-authors: Maria Hartwig, PhD and D. Brian Wallace, PhD 27 July 2015 Research suggests that interpersonal deception is a common phenomenon in many settings. However, to date no research has examined lying and lie detection in the financial industry. This paper presents an empirical examination of investment professionals’ beliefs about deception. We obtained survey data from 607 CFA Institute charter holders across the world. Three aspects of deception were included in the survey. First, respondents’ beliefs about the behavioral characteristics of lying were examined. Second, perceptions of the prevalence of lies in professional and everyday life were mapped. Third, respondents were asked to estimate their ability to distinguish between lies and truths. The results showed that respondents subscribed to common misconceptions about deceptive behavior, in particular the beliefs that liars are gaze aversive and fidgety. Respondents believed that lying occurs on a daily basis, and that their accuracy in detecting lies exceeds 65%. Previous research suggests that this estimate may be overconfident. Implications of these results and directions for future research on deception in the financial industry are discussed.“Detecting Lies in the Financial Industry: A Survey of Investment Professionals’ Beliefs”
Journal of Behavioral Finance 27 February 2013 Priming is a well-researched phenomenon in behavioral finance. A form of priming is the susceptibility of the mind to archetypes, or generalizations of businesses and individuals. Investment archetypes can lead to faulty decision making.“Investment Archetypes”
John Wiley 6 November 2012 Co-edited with David T. Larrabee, CFA. Valuation is the cornerstone of investment analysis, and a thorough understanding and correct application of valuation methodologies are critical for long-term investing success. Properly applied, valuation techniques can help investors distinguish between price and value, a critical distinction from which excess returns flow. Edited by two leading valuation experts from CFA Institute, this book brings together the insights and expertise of some of the most astute and successful investment minds of the past 50 years. From Benjamin Graham, the “father of value investing,” to Aswath Damodaran, you’ll learn what these investment luminaries have to say about investment valuation techniques, including earnings and cash flow analysis. As you read the chapters in this book, you will gain an appreciation for the evolution of valuation thought, and in the process, you will acquire a framework for understanding future innovations in the field.Valuation Techniques: Discounted Cash Flow, Earnings Quality, Measures of Value Added, and Real Options
“The Fallacy of Price/Earnings to Growth Ratios” The Journal of Private Equity 15 September 2011 Price/earnings to growth (PEG) ratios are based on mathematics, but shockingly, the PEG ratio is only accurate under a very specific set of circumstances that are rarely ever met in the investment market place.
The Intuitive Investor:
A Radical Guide for Manifesting Wealth 1 October 2010 Nominated as a finalist for Book of the Year Award by Foreword Reviews from amongst 1,400 entries. On October 21, 2004, I had a true epiphany: there was going to be a near-collapse on Wall Street and I should retire to exclusively pursue a spiritual practice. In electing to honor my vision I gave up a career in which the mutual fund I co-managed bested the NASDAQ by 77.0%, the S&P 500 by 49.1%, and the DJIA by 35.9%. Most of this success came from a deep understanding of the mind and its capacity for creative and intuitive thought. These secrets and their real-world application are the specific focus and passion of The Intuitive Investor. The book is about much more than just investing, The Intuitive Investor is also a guide to healthy, mindful living. Scarcely have money, mind, and spirit been brought together so potently. Download a Sample Chapter of The Intuitive Investor: A Radical Guide for Manifesting Wealth (127kb pdf)
