New research has found financial advice has a wide impact and improves the quality of life for recipients beyond purely financial benefits.
Australians who receive ongoing financial advice believe they have a better quality of life with some claiming it has benefitted their family life and mental health, according to new research released by the Financial Planning Association (FPA).
The study, conducted by MYMAVINS, looked beyond the financial benefits of advice and examined the perceptions of unadvised and advised Australians, measuring their quality of life, financial confidence and satisfaction.
The FPA stated its inaugural Value of Advice (VoA) index found advised Australians were better off generally than those who are not advised with 41 per cent believing professional advice has benefited their family life, and another 44 per cent claimed it had benefited their mental health.
The report noted the top benefits advised Australians received from a financial planner were greater confidence in having a comfortable retirement (47 per cent); improved financial wellbeing (40 per cent) and improved financial decision making (37 per cent).
FPA chief executive Sarah Abood said the research and index highlighted financial advice had benefits that went beyond financial with around a third of respondents claiming the advice they received improved their general wellbeing.
“Australians with an active relationship with a financial planner are better off in multiple ways. They suffer less financial stress, enjoy a higher quality of life, have more financial confidence, and are more satisfied with their wealth,” Abood explained.
“Regardless of the client’s wealth or age, the study found advice promotes and enables better quality of life.
“On average, advised Australians rate their overall life satisfaction at 7.3 out of 10, significantly higher than the 6.4 rating from the unadvised.
“Advised Australians are also significantly more likely to feel financially secure than those who are unadvised (85 per cent versus 62 per cent), and are more likely to feel very or completely satisfied with their current level of wealth (35 per cent versus 18 per cent).
The research found advised pre-retirees were twice as confident they will have enough money for retirement (52 per cent) compared to unadvised pre-retirees (26 per cent), while advised early retirees are more confident in having enough money for the rest of their retirement than those who are unadvised (63 per cent versus 40 per cent).
The study was based on the responses of 1051 people, aged 40 and over, to an online quantitative survey of which 212 were advised by a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), 194 were advised non-CFP and 645 were unadvised.
