As We Age, Our Financial Acumen Can Decline

Recent research indicates that our understanding of financial concepts starts to drop once we pass middle-age. These changes in financial “performance” are part of the normal cognitive decline that happens as we age.  

If your aging parents start to show signs of a decline in financial performance, MarketWatch’s Elizabeth O’Brien offers advice on how to handle that. AdviserOne author, Olivia Mellan, has also assembled articles on the topic. These articles are aimed at the advisor rather than the consumer, but one of her posts focuses on the use of “brain extenders,” software and other tools that can help investors keep track of their financial plans. These tools could potentially compensate for deficits in memory and attention that come with aging. 

See Matthew Heimer, Financial Help for the Aging Brain, MarketWatch, Mar. 29, 2013.