UC Finance Professional Speaker Series with Zoe Wallis, Investment Strategist, Forsyth Barr

Investment Strategist - “Brains, Biases, and Bad Decisions: Psychology in the Financial Markets”

Join us as we hear from Forsyth Barr Investment Strategist Zoe Wallis, addressing questions such as “Why don't markets always behave rationally?” and “Why, when it comes to investing, can our own brains be our worst enemy?” The lecture is part of the UC Finance Professional Speaker Series.

In this guest lecture, Zoe Wallis explores how common psychological biases, such as fear of missing out, overconfidence and loss aversion, can distort financial decisions and drive market behaviour. You’ll learn why humans are predictably irrational when it comes to money and risk, and how these patterns play out in markets around the world.

Zoe is an alumnus of UC, having graduated in 2007 with BCom(hons) in Economics and Finance. She will also reflect on her own career journey — from graduate analyst at the Reserve Bank to Chief Economist at Kiwibank, to her current role as Investment Strategist at Forsyth Barr — offering insights into life in the finance industry and lessons learned along the way.

The session will conclude with an open Q&A, offering a chance to dive deeper into anything covered—or anything else you’re curious about the finance industry and investment banking.

The event is open to everyone.