Advice should be about time not money
A goals-based investing scheme focusing on future lifestyle, rather than just aiming to maximise the financial returns of an asset, is what clients are wanting from their financial planners, according to IOOF.
IOOF group general manager, Renato Mota, has called on planners to reconsider the balance between time and money invested in clients to assure they are fully meeting their expectations and needs.
Mota said that both time and money are valuable, but that respondents to a study in the Journal of Social Psychological and Personality Science had voted overwhelmingly in favour of more time over money.
"Money and time have similarities. You can save, or spend, either and more people desire more of both," he said.
"The study asked 4000 participants whether they would prefer more money or time... those who chose more time were happier."
Mota said that an initital survey saw 64 per cent of respondents choose money as a top priority, yet it was important for advisers to focus on maintaining clientele by engaging on a more personal level, which had been reflected in the company's most recent findings.
"Respondents were asked the same question again a year later, around a quarter changed their mind, suggesting... many more value time over money," he said.
"It demonstrates why [advisers] should consider time as one of the most valuable commodities to offer clients."
According to Mota, value of good advice lay in the understanding of broader criteria for looking at clients, encompassing overall happiness levels and lifestyle trends.
"I truly believe there are many other ways our profession contributes to the wellbeing of clients," Mota said of his position.
"It's a belief supported by our 2015 white paper — ‘The true value of advice', which found that those who receive ongoing financial advice have 13 per cent higher overall personal happiness."
AUTHOR
Hope William-Smith
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