There is an amazing opportunity for progressive businesses and leaders to make a significant positive impact on those we work with and or those that we employ.
For those who know me or have worked alongside me, you’re well aware that I am a passionate advocate for improving financial education and supporting behavioural change. Not just the theory, mind you, but genuine practical support that can be actioned.
My experiences in this space over the last 10 years highlight a mixed bag of offerings and quality. Some of the offerings have inherent bias and some are limited in terms of focus, which also limits the benefit to the end user.
Given the future regulatory changes on the radar, I think there is potential for additional support to evolve.
While the advice profession has evolved in terms of structure, service proposition and business models, it’s possible we’re losing sight of the changes and challenges facing those who need our support. For example:
- Cost-of-living pressure has increased levels of financial stress – and poor financial literacy compounds the issue.
- People need help when it comes to understanding and managing money, and they don’t just need it in a crisis situation. There is an avalanche of need!
- The help required comes in various forms, and what will be right for some may not be appropriate for others. It can include education, guidance, coaching and advice.
- Ideally, the help is delivered through a range of trusted sources, absent of any product bias.
- Poor management of wealth and transitions across future generations will have a significant negative impact on preservation of that wealth and future generations’ mental wellbeing.
- Individuals are prompted to take action via internal and or external triggers.
Traditional industry boundaries are blurring. Technology is enabling scalable solutions and refreshed personalising offerings from non-traditional participants.
The leadership of most advice practices are also in transition (or will be) over the next five years. Meanwhile, a cluster of aggregators are flooding the market with attractive offers, seeking the fast-track to scale objectives.
New services and service providers are entering. New partnerships are forming across industry boundaries and there is an emergence of specialists in components of the service proposition.
While many are impacted by cost-of-living pressures, the deeper issue is a much broader lack of access and knowledge – in some cases, apathy may play a role, too.
To address this problem, we need to anchor ourselves back to our core reason for being. The vast majority of educators, coaches and advisers have, at their core, an overwhelming desire to improve the wellbeing, confidence and financial position of their clients.
Yes, some may have a product overlay, but I don’t think it’s helpful to get tied up in territorial spats or boundaries. We must endeavour to remember our core purpose and focus on establishing and strengthening positive financial cues, habits and behaviours for those we engage with.
For leaders, this is about understanding your team and creating an environment (and safe space) for conversations and sharing to occur. Workplaces that are committed to protecting the psychological health of their staff need to ensure they create the space, time and support to navigate financial wellbeing challenges.
They can also open pathways to support connected family. This means putting aside some of the barriers to implementation – perceived or actual – for the greater good of your team.
As advice business leaders, this means keeping an open mind regarding service providers and partners to our business that support and improve our ability to deliver on our core purpose. We need to ensure we get our own house in order and support our teams so we can advocate from a position of strength. It’s in no one’s interest to build a model where people blindly follow a solution without having some knowledge to challenge, question and test it.
We also need to get very clear about which clients we want to work with and can add value to. Who else can we partner with to support those clients who may come to us but aren’t the right fit for our core offering? This could mean, for example, children of and referrals from our preferred clients. For those who focus on intergenerational wealth transfers, getting this right will be critical.
And, of course, we need to motivate people to get off the fence and take action. How do we do that?
Individuals are motivated by a broad range of factors. Sometimes these factors are their values, beliefs and goals, but they could also be external events and/or changes in their environment – a health event, for example, or a change in market conditions.
There’s as much to be said about getting strong fundamental financial education as there is in getting a third person who can help us work through the blind spots.
Actions speak much louder than words, though, and that’s why I’ve recently launched My Goal Getter in conjunction with some industry veterans. It brings financial education and personalised coaching together, and is primarily targeted at workplaces.
More people need help to nudge them along their journey. Left to their own devices, there’s a large risk that many people will make poor financial decisions.
If you’re in the advice business, what are you doing for your team and clients in this space?
If you are an employer, I think this is a great opportunity to assist and improve the wellbeing of your team.
The time is now to get off the fence and take action.
Advisely Board
