Australians in the dark about personal finances
New research from Raiz Invest has revealed many Australians are in the dark about the state of their personal finances.
This included a lack of clarity on concepts of investing, interest rates on savings accounts and broader financial literacy.
The survey had been commissioned to identify consumers basic understanding of savings and investment options.
It also looked at how recent events such as the Royal Commission and the declined property market impacted Australian’s perception of where to invest.
The results revealed three major themes:
- Over half of Aussies had been unaware that cash is the safest place to invest finances.
- Men had a higher appetite for investment risk, with 38 per cent of men investing in the equity market compared to only 22 per cent of women.
- Following the fallout of the recent Royal Commission, almost half of Aussies said they are less inclined to invest their money with the likes of the big four.
Recommended for you
As the first quarter of 2024 comes to a close, Money Management looks back on the corporate regulator’s bans and AFSL cancellations in the financial advice sector.
Insignia Financial is holding ‘relatively steady’ onto its rank as Australia’s second-largest financial advice licensee after the Godfrey Pembroke exit but Count is hot on its heels.
Liberal senator Slade Brockman has said the government needs to have a “cold hard look” at the level of regulation in the financial advice space and the costs of running a business.
FAAA chief executive, Sarah Abood, has warned changes in the first tranche of the QAR legislation around advice fees documentation could create more work for advisers rather than less.