<span>A global retirement crisis looms – particularly here in the States. Americans are increasingly finding themselves responsible for securing their own financial futures. Many, however, do not feel comfortable with the myriad challenges it entails. Seeking help, they are turning to professionals. But are professionals up to this task? If professionals exhibit sub-optimal investment decision making behavior for themselves, can they be expected to exhibit better behavior when working on behalf of others? Exploring strategic asset allocation decisions for clients, this study discovered an analytical foundation similar to that used for the self as well as the existence of the </span><span>Duplicity Effect – defined as making different portfolio decisions for one’s self than for clients. Importantly, independent factors surfaced including: a) the positively correlated securities and occupational risk dynamic perceived by the professional; b) the importance of professional’s and client’s philosophical congruence via educational interaction(s); and c) the oftentimes need for client-oriented inference / mind reading by the professional. Ironically, in the end, despite the existence of the Duplicity Effect, the fieldwork suggests that the client portfolio exhibits higher mean-variant efficiency than the one constructed for the professional.Doctorate of Management Programs</span>
