Financial Planning Week offers Britons the chance to bust the myths around taking financial advice and gain valuable free advice, says Continuum.
This week is the CISI’s Financial Planning Week, a week designed to show Britons if financial advice is for them.
During Financial Planning Week many UK financial advisers, including many from Continuum, will run a series of initiatives to promote the benefits of Financial Planning to local and national communities.
One initiative being offered during the week is free meetings for anyone who would like to know if they could benefit from taking advice.
Continuum is one firm supporting the week, and said that the sessions would allow advisers to bust the myths around financial advice.
Richard Watkins, Chartered Financial Planner at Continuum, said: “Financial Planning Week allows planners to engage with potential clients to talk about the benefits of real financial planning. Planners can illustrate how their methodology can guide clients to the life they want. Clients can have a no-obligation discussion about what their best life might look like and explore the paths available to them
“The principal myth is that financial advice is expensive. A discussion with a planner about value rather than cost should reveal the benefits of a well thought out plan. Research by Vanguard published in September 2019, for example, suggests that a good financial plan that evaluates cash flow, asset allocation, tolerance for risk and regular reviews can add up to an additional 3% of a client’s investment value every year over time
“There are numerous reasons why clients do not seek advice. Primarily inertia, fear, an inability to plan and self-limiting beliefs.
“Inertia: Most people understand that their financial life needs to be improved, be organised, and have focus but life’s daily grind occupies their thoughts and actions. They focus on the today and ignore the future. A planner can help evaluate what you want your future to be and guide you towards it.
“Fear: A chronic lack of financial education and a real fear of talking about money. Financial education in the UK is woefully inadequate. People are terrified about talking about money and their relationship with money because it is stressful, is a social taboo and we are uneasy talking about numbers. This contributes to the fact that the average personal pension in the UK is worth only £66K. It is vital to allow people to talk about their money story as it will reveal barriers that can be broken down and replaced with a clear path of meaning and purpose. A good planner can help them and guide them away from the self-limiting beliefs that hold them back. It is the conversation that takes place the most with clients, in my experience.
“Inability to plan: A good planner will be able to map out a clear path to identifiable objectives or possibilities, enable a client to be in control of their finances, be able to cope with financial shocks, provide financial options that adapts to life’s challenges and provide clarity and security for the ones we leave behind.
“Self-limiting beliefs: These form the core of your money story and can dominate your life and keep you away from a life of meaning and purpose. Self-limiting beliefs are many and complex but will include fear, loss aversion, overconfidence, a tendency to follow the herd because it’s easy to do so, inability to manage money well, and a focus on the immediate. In the latter case, for example, an unexpected windfall is likely to be assigned to immediate needs (new car, holiday, bathroom) rather than, say, tax efficient applications like pensions and ISAs that offer long term benefits. A well-prepared plan and an open conversation with your planner can assign money according to identified priorities.”
