Financial advisers need to reassess the language they are using with members of the public, particularly younger people, who feel they are being overlooked by advisers unless they have kids and a mortgage, according to a Sydney based adviser.
Caboodle Financial Services Managing Director and Zaptitude Co-Founder Peita Diamantidis said advisers should stop assuming they knew what was best for the public and instead ask current and potential clients what it was they wanted and then deliver on those requests.
“What’s interesting about Millennials is, not only do they feel that the financial services industry, I’m talking accountants, advisers, fund managers, banks, insurance companies, all of it, speak in some alien language that they’ll never understand, they also think that unless they have kids and buy a house that we think they are invisible,” Diamantidis said.
“What’s interesting about Millennials is …they also think that unless they have kids and buy a house that we think they are invisible.”
“That’s horrifying, that our industry is missing such a massive portion of the Australian public,” she added.
Speaking at the launch of her new book and the release of a survey of the financial advice needs of Millennials, Diamantidis said financial advisers should stop lecturing people about what they needed to do.
“We really need to look at ourselves as educators, but even more importantly, we need to inspire them, we need to motivate them and we need to connect to them,” Diamantidis said, adding this was important with Millennial clients who were less interested in buying a house and were more focused on having adventures than meeting financial goals.
The survey, Investing in Millennials, conducted by Zaptitude among 400 people aged 16 to 36, found that while only 20% had a gender preference when seeking a financial expert 63% preferred to speak with a Gen X adviser, 15% with a Baby Boomer adviser and 22% with a Millennial adviser.
Technical skills and detailed explanations ranked lower (29%) than the ability to simplify the complex (66%) and having a sense of humour (68%) as the key personality traits of a financial expert. Diamantidis stated these leading characteristics are a core part to storytelling and require advisers to present themselves as human beings rather than just their views as professionals.
The research also found that 70% of surveyed group felt there were no financial product and services tailored to their generation but would be interested in financial education programs at school and university and simplified products with defined goals and targets.
Around two-thirds of survey respondents also said they would prefer to learn more in face to face courses (45%) or though live seminars or workshops (21%) with the rest opting for online training and information.
The survey, Investing in Millennials, conducted by Zaptitude among 400 people aged 16 to 36, found that while only 20% had a gender preference when seeking a financial expert 63% preferred to speak with a Gen X adviser, 15% with a Baby Boomer adviser and 22% with a Millennial adviser.
Technical skills and detailed explanations ranked lower (29%) than the ability to simplify the complex (66%) and having a sense of humour (68%) as the key personality traits of a financial expert. Diamantidis stated these leading characteristics are a core part to storytelling and require advisers to present themselves as human beings rather than just their views as professionals.
The research also found that 70% of surveyed group felt there were no financial product and services tailored to their generation but would be interested in financial education programs at school and university and simplified products with defined goals and targets.
Around two-thirds of survey respondents also said they would prefer to learn more in face to face courses (45%) or though live seminars or workshops (21%) with the rest opting for online training and information.
