Clients who work with a financial planner say they are better off, with five-in-10 clients highly satisfied with their wealth versus three-in-10 unadvised consumers, new research released for World Financial Planning Day has found.
In releasing the research, the FAAA says the Financial Planning Standards Board’s Value of Financial Planning Research 2023, conducted for World Financial Planning Day (October 4), also found that clients of financial planners are more likely to experience financial peace of mind.
Four-in-five clients say they feel financially secure and that their finances are tangibly better off.
The association adds the study also addressed long-standing myths about financial planning that have prevented many Australians from taking the next steps in seeking financial advice, including:
- Myth: Financial advice is only for the rich: The research found three-in-four clients earning $120,000 or less per year who work with financial planners felt financially secure and confident which is higher than unadvised consumers on the same level of income
- Myth: Financial planning is only needed at retirement: Nine-in-10 Millennials who work with a financial planner agree that financial planning has left them better off financially
- Myth: Financial planning costs more than it’s worth: The research found eight-in-10 clients of financial planners say the benefits of financial planning outweigh the costs
- Myth: Financial planners lack objectivity: Over nine-in-10 clients of financial planners report they trust their financial planner to act in the client’s best interests
FAAA Chair David Sharpe says that advice professionals and their clients “…have always known that these long-standing myths, that have been regarded as public truths, are false.”
…with these research findings the high value that financial advice can bring is undeniable…
He adds that with these research findings “…the high value that financial advice can bring is undeniable.”
Sharpe says that in celebrating World Financial Planning Day, it is important that all Australians understand the benefits that financial advice can bring into their own lives.
The research also includes the FAAA Value of Advice Index, aimed at showing the difference between those who do work with a financial planning professional and those who do not. It’s measured across components including quality of life, financial confidence and financial satisfaction.
Sharpe says that across those three components, the index showed financial planning clients experience a higher quality of life, greater financial confidence, and more financial satisfaction than those who are unadvised.
The descriptions and statistics in the report are based on insights from a global research study undertaken for the Financial Planning Standards Board by research firm MYMAVINS. The quantitative study undertaken in February 2023 involved an online survey of 1,038 respondents from Australia.
Click here to view the FAAA Financial Planning Week Resources.
