Cygnet Institute has achieved ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems certification (QMS) from NSF International Strategic Registrations (NSF-ISR) for the design and provision of financial skills education. The standard, built on principles like strong customer focus and continual improvement, demonstrates Cygnet's commitment to delivering consistent, quality products and services.
Cygnet Institute has been designated by CEFEX, the Centre for Fiduciary Excellence as a nonprofit Investment Support Services (ISS) provider for plan sponsors and plan participants to educate adults in economic matters, advance their financial literacy and enhance their ability to make good financial decisions in self-directed retirement plans and non-retirement accounts. For more information click the seal or go to www.CEFEX.org.
PDF Documents
We have some great PDF documents to help you learn and improve your financial literacy — click on any of them below and let the learning begin!
Navigating the Market
Factors that influence investor behavior: A comparison of spending on financial education and financial marketing
Measuring Financial Wellbeing
A guide to using the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Financial Well-Being Scale
Stress In America
The state of our nation survey by the American Psychological Association
Critical Thinking Skills
Scheffer and Rubenfeld discuss critical thinking habits and critical thinking skills. For each of the critical thinking skills, they Also give a number of activity statements.
Don’t Blink! The Hazards of Confidence
An article about the way biases impact our decisions. Written by Daniel Kahneman, emeritus professor of psychology and of public affairs at Princeton University and a winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economics. This article is adapted from his book “Thinking, Fast and Slow,”
Investor Alerts from SEC, FINRA and NASAA
Investment Products and Sales Practices Commonly Used to Defraud Seniors: Stories from the Front Line
Financial Fragility in the US: Evidence and Implications
A research project from the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center, The George Washington University School of Business that examines financial fragility in the United States measured as individuals’ ability to cope with unexpected expenses.
Investor’s 10 Most Common Behavioral Biases
A brief article containing an abundance of links that will give the reader a very robust understanding of the impact of biases in our decisions.
Kolb’s Learning Styles and Experiential Learning Model
As excellent discussion of the value of experiential learning and its implementation. Retrieved from Clark, D.R. (2011).
The State of U.S. Financial Capability
The FINRA Foundation’s National Financial Capability Study (NFCS) is designed to understand and measure a rich, connected set of perceptions, attitudes, experiences, and behaviors across a large, diverse sample in order to provide a comprehensive analysis encompassing a combination of knowledge, resources, access, experience, and habits.
Numeracy, Financial Literacy, and Financial Decision Making
An excellent paper by Annamaria Lusardi, George Washington University, School of Business that explains that the lack of numeracy is not only widespread but is particularly severe among some demographic groups, such as women, the elderly, and those with low educational attainment.
Employee Financial Wellness Survey
This 9th annual survey by Price Waterhouse Coopers aims to understand the impact of Covid-19 and the extent to which employees are unprepared for an extended economic downturn and possible recession.
Letter by the Committee for the Fiduciary Standard
Public comments from retail investors and other interested parties on standards for investment advisors and broker dealers
Personal Finance Index
The 2018 TIAA Institute-GFLEC survey of the state of financial literacy among U.S. Adults
Psychological Conditions of Personal Engagement and Disengagement at Work
A study by William A. Kahn (Boston University) which began with the premise that people can use varying degrees of themselves: physically, cognitively, and emotionally in work role performances. His conclusions have implications for employers that aspire to have employees who are engaged in their work.
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