Advisers taking on ‘emotional’ role
A clear majority of advisers feel their jobs are covering more than financial issues and now involve discussions about clients’ emotional wellbeing.
According to research commissioned by Milford Asset Management and conducted by XY Adviser, some 94% of advisers felt their role as a coach and counsellor was becoming more important.
Half of advisers surveyed said they had acted as mediator between a family or with extended family members of a client.
Some 83% said clients had cried or become angry during sessions and 45% said they spent time speaking about issues such as family problems, addiction issues and mental health.
This tied into earlier research by the firm on money coaching and how advisers could benefit from exploring client financial behaviour.
Kristine Brooks, Milford head of Australian business, which had $15 billion in funds under management, said: “We identified that more and more of the conversations we are having are less about money and more about people’s relationship with money.
“We believe that the skill of a coach is a highly valued one when helping clients to make decisions about their money, so we wanted to explore this idea and share our thoughts with our advice partners in Australia.”
The survey also found the most common emotion associated with money was anxiety, for both male and female clients. However, 55% of men said they associated money with happiness while this was not among the top three emotions for women, who said they experienced depression and anger.
The biggest financial regret was not saving enough, followed by not investing enough and not budgeting enough.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
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