Trust a barrier to financial advice
Lack of trust is holding most Australians back from working with a financial professional, with 70 per cent saying they did not know who to trust compared to 66 per cent globally, according to a survey.
A global study by the Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB) along with the Financial Planning Association (FPA) showed 64 per cent of Australians trust was a very important factor when choosing a financial planner.
It also showed consumers were twice as likely (41 per cent) to turn to family and friends for advice on financial planning matters as they would be to turn to a professional planner (23 per cent), while 30 per cent relied on websites for financial information
FPA chief executive, Mark Rantall, said: "The survey reaffirms our own findings and validates our strategy of lifting education and professional standards of professional financial planners to help earn the trust of more Australians".
More than half of respondents (54 per cent) were unsure of whether financial planning was regulated but 83 per cent felt it was very or somewhat important for it to be regulated, compared to 79 per cent globally.
Australian consumers were most interested in financial planning services such as budgeting and debt management (37 per cent), and retirement planning (35 per cent), the survey of 19,092 primary or shared household financial decision-makers in 19 territories around the world showed.
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