Chris Gilchrist

"I began my career in financial journalism in 1970 after graduating from Trinity College, Cambridge. I have written about personal finance and investment for most national newspapers and contributed to many radio and TV productions, as well as authoring several books and editing various magazines and newsletters. But I am not just a commentator: I co-founded an independent financial advice business in 1996, a financial website in 2002 and have served as a consultant to major financial services businesses.

Money is emotive. This is the first and most obvious fact about it and one that is denied by most financial services commentators, who still adopt a 'rational man' viewpoint and imply that this is the right way to deal with it. Meanwhile financial services businesses exploit our emotional biases by constructing products that sell to our fears and anxieties and are often poor value.

My view is that unless you acknowledge and confront the emotive factors in the world of money, you are likely to make bad decisions. When you uncover the assumptions that are built into conventional views, you will see that to deal with money effectively you have to make judgments that are as much emotional as rational.

I have lived in Bristol for 20 years and am a trustee of a Buddhist charity, The Samatha Trust."