Advised clients seeing increased financial reassurance


The benefits of receiving financial advice have been highlighted in a new report which found while over half of unadvised people worried about money daily or weekly, this fell to 36% for those who received advice.
The Value of Advice report from Fidelity surveyed over 400 Australians, 200 advised and 220 unadvised, and found advice had successfully reduced people’s money worries.
Some 52% of unadvised people worried about money on a daily or weekly basis but just 36% of those who received advice felt the same way.
It was also the case for their mental health with just 33% of advised people saying their mental health had suffered as a result of COVID-19 compared to 48% of unadvised people.
The effect was perhaps most obvious in people’s long-term goals with 72% of people who had received advice saying they felt ‘reasonably or very’ prepared for retirement compared to 29% of unadvised people.
Alva Devoy, managing director-Australia for Fidelity International, said: “The pandemic has changed the way many of us live and work. For the more fortunate, this might provide opportunities to save or spend in a more considered way. However, for many, it is causing significant worries from job security to the impact of market volatility on savings.
“While we cannot predict how this current crisis will develop, there are steps individuals can take to mitigate the impact on their own finances, reduce their worries and improve their overall wellbeing. Taking a long-term view will be key.”
Popular savings strategies being taken by survey respondents included reducing discretionary spending, reducing essential spending on food and clothes, selling shares or property and accessing their superannuation.
Recommended for you
Net cash flow on AMP’s platforms saw a substantial jump in the last quarter to $740 million, while its new digital advice offering boosted flows to superannuation and investment.
Insignia Financial has provided an update on the status of its private equity bidders as an initial six-week due diligence period comes to an end.
A judge has detailed how individuals lent as much as $1.1 million each to former financial adviser Anthony Del Vecchio, only learning when they contacted his employer that nothing had ever been invested.
Having rejected the possibility of an IPO, Mason Stevens’ CEO details why the wealth platform went down the PE route and how it intends to accelerate its growth ambitions in financial advice.