Over the last 50 years, neoclassical financial theory has been dominating our perception of what is happening in financial markets. It has spurred numerous valuable theories and concepts all based on the concept of Homo Economicus, the strictly rational economic man. However, humans do not always act in a strictly rational manner.
For students and practitioners alike, our book aims at opening the door to another perspective on financial markets: a behavioral perspective based on a Homo Oeconomicus Humanus. This agent acts with limited rationality when making decisions. He/she uses heuristics and shortcuts and is prone to the influence of emotions. This sounds familiar in real life and can be transferred to what happens in financial markets, too.


Dr. Rolf J. Daxhammer is professor for Financial Markets at ESB Business School, Reutlingen University. His teaching and research interests are International Financial Markets, Investment Banking and Behavioral Finance. In his consulting work he is engaged in projects in Private Wealth Management und Financial Nudging, amongst others.

Máté Facsar is Vice President Sales in the Strategic Client Group of FactSet, a global provider of market data and software solutions. His close cooperation with investment professionals enables him to monitor the application of Behavioral Finance in Asset and Wealth Management. After a banking traineeship, he studied International Business Administration at the ESB Business School in Reutlingen, Germany.

Zsolt Papp, managing director, is a senior investment specialist within the Global Fixed Income, Currency & Commodities (GFICC) group. Based in London, Zsolt is responsible for client management, product design and new business development for the Emerging Markets Debt team.