Is it beneficial to pay for financial advice? It's been asked since the beginning of time. Is it beneficial to pay for financial advice?
When I started writing this, I was well aware of the potential conflicts of interest that may arise. A financial adviser comes across a report that demonstrates the importance of seeking help! Although the results aren't exactly ground-breaking, I hope you'll stick with me since I think you'll find them intriguing to read.
The International Longevity Centre (ILC) is an independent research organization that examines the effect that society is experiencing as a result of all of us living longer. Additionally, due to the fact that it is an autonomous organization, it does not function as a spokesperson for the financial advising industry.
My interest was piqued, therefore, when the ILC published "strong evidence which illustrates the very real benefit to seeking competent financial advice."
The benefits of working with a financial adviser
The quick response to the question, "Is it worth it to get financial advice?" is yes.
Permit me to make an attempt to summarize some of the most important discoveries (you can read the full guide about the value of financial advice here).
Those who sought out financial counsel were far more likely to put away a greater amount of money. You might be forgiven for assuming that the only purpose of financial advisers is to ensure that their customers get the highest possible return on their assets. This is an interesting point to consider.
However, it would seem that this is not the case, since they also appear to be about promoting healthy financial behaviors, such as putting part of your extra cash aside for the future.
If the one before didn't catch you off guard, the one after that most certainly will. Those very same people who saved more money over time ended up being much richer.
How much more wealthy are you? According to the calculations of the ILC, around £43,000 And for those of you who are skeptical, keep in mind that this is after all charges!
However, if you go past the statistics, you'll discover something more intriguing. When asked if they were happy with the outcome, more than nine out of ten people who followed the suggestion reported being pleased.
You may think that having a few more pounds in your pocket would make you happy, but it seems that the source of their happiness was the peace of mind that was offered by having a financial counselor.
That makes perfect sense, since our experience has shown us over and again that the thing that customers believe they want most from their financial adviser (returns on their investments), is not often the thing that they value the most (financial peace of mind).
Is it worthwhile to work with a financial advisor? When the dollars and cents, as well as the sense of security, are taken into consideration, we believe that they are.
Who should seek out financial advice?
Only around 17 percent of the population gets professional counsel on their finances, despite the fact that the advantages are obvious and quantifiable.
What's the deal? I believe that one of the many reasons for this is that there is a widespread lack of confidence in financial advisers and a perception that financial advisors charge more than they are worth. This is only one of the numerous reasons.
This is a point of view with which I can empathize; nonetheless, a golden rule that must be followed by any respectable financial counselor is that the value delivered must be greater than the amount paid. Otherwise, it simply doesn't make sense to operate together.
One of our guiding principles is that we will never take on new customers until the amount of value we bring to the table significantly outweighs the cost of our services.
The value of financial advice will never be simple to quantify, and some could argue that it will always be susceptible to subjective interpretation. However, this is not the case. However, there is a growing amount of empirical research that suggests that if you follow advice, you are likely to be in a considerably better financial position than if you did not take advise.
It's interesting to note that astute investors have already figured this out. In general, a person's level of wealth is inversely proportional to the likelihood that they get the assistance of a financial counselor. My point of view is that competent financial advice should not just be available to the rich; rather, it should be available to a far larger spectrum of individuals at a price point that is affordable to them.