More confirmation that clients value advice
Most consumers do not seek financial advice because they believe they do not need it and it is likely to be too costly, according to new academic research released by the Financial Services Council (FSC).
However the same research, conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Adelaide, University of Technology Sydney and University of Western Australia, suggested those attitudes were likely to change if those people who did use a financial adviser shared their experiences and why they valued advice.
This was in circumstances where an overwhelming majority of clients (84 per cent) reported high levels of trust in their financial planner and 80 per cent said they were satisfied with their adviser.
The key findings of the research were:
Clients saw value in having a financial planner. Close to 70 per cent of respondents agreed that paying fees for advice was worth it;
Eighty per cent of clients would recommend their financial planner;
Financial planners adopted different styles in working with their clients (identified as mentor, partner, delegate, coach and validator) and 80 per cent of clients were happy with the service style used by their planner;
Financial planning clients reported higher satisfaction in making financial decisions, higher satisfaction with the financial aspects of life, and peace of mind than non-clients; and
In contrast to non-clients who saw cost as a barrier to obtaining advice, it was interesting to note that the majority of financial planning clients thought paying fees for advice is worth it.
Commenting on the research results, FSC chief executive, Sally Loane said that to encourage more Australians to seek financial planning advice, it was important to gain a better understanding of the value experience people got when engaging a financial planner.
"The research findings showing the overwhelming majority of clients are satisfied with their financial planner goes to show there is fantastic work being done by the industry on a daily basis that goes largely unreported," she said.
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