ASG develops financial literacy guide
Non-for-profit organisation and education benefit provider, the Australian Scholarships Group (ASG), has launched a free financial literacy guide called Planning Counts, which the group say will help Australians establish good financial habits.
Planning Counts covers a range of topics including planning for future goals, solutions for financial problems, investing, navigating Government benefits and budgeting.
The main goal, however, is to help parents provide education opportunities for their children.
ASG general manager development, Frida Kordovoulos said the group developed the guide in response to research released by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which found that access to simple financial information and advice could help Australians overcome the barriers to making sound financial decisions.
Kordovoulos said ASG’s members nominated financial literacy as one of the top issues they wanted to know more about.
“While dealing with money can be overwhelming for many of us, research has shown that people are in fact relatively financially literate,” Kordovoulos said.
“There just seems to be a lack of simple and direct tools and information for families to help them practice what they know, and this is supported by the recent findings of the ASIC report,” she added.
Following its Financial Literacy and Behavioural Change report, ASIC launched its own financial literacy website, Money Smart, which offers budget calculators, debt consolidation tips and information on superannuation and retirement, as well as borrowing and investments.
In developing the Planning Counts guide, ASG corroborated with financial writer Justine Davies.
Recommended for you
Large AFSLs with more than 100 advisers are seeing the largest losses in both adviser and AFSL numbers as individuals seek a smaller, personal vision in their work.
Former deputy CEO of AMP Capital, David Atkin, has announced he will be returning to Australia after stepping down as chief executive of the Principles for Responsible Investment organisation.
A global Morgan Stanley report has found 83 per cent of Asia-Pacific individual investors would select a financial adviser based on their sustainable investment offerings, and are most understanding of how ESG can boost returns.
Insignia Financial has announced the status of the two private equity bidders as due diligence comes to an end, with one bidder opting to pull out.
