FPSB partnered with GfK, a global research firm, to survey more than 19,000 people in 19 territories.
The survey found:
- Just 22 percent of consumers feel strongly confident that they will achieve their financial goals, with only 17 percent believing strongly in their financial know-how, and 19 percent feeling they are successful at sticking to their financial strategies.
- Knowing whom to trust is the biggest barrier to working with a financial professional. Among consumers surveyed, 68 percent rate “trustworthiness” as a very important consideration when choosing a financial professional – higher than any other consideration. But a similar percentage of consumers say they don’t know whom to trust when it comes to receiving financial advice.
- Consumers with a financial plan are more confident – and those with a written, comprehensive plan are nearly three times more likely to feel strongly confident about achieving their life goals.
- Financial planners with the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER certification earn higher “excellent” ratings from consumers for important characteristics like “honesty and integrity,” “understanding needs and goals,” and “placing my interests first.”
FPSB owns the international CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER certification program outside the United States, and sets rigorous standards for financial planning to support consumers in achieving their financial and life goals. By meeting rigorous international competency, ethics and professional practice standards, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professionals are qualified to help consumers take control – and stay in control – of their financial lives.
Our Research on the Value of Financial Planning
FPSB’s global research centered on how consumers feel about their finances, what motivates them to seek – or prevents them from seeking – the services of a financial adviser or financial planner, the areas in which people seek financial advice, and how those working with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional rate their experience. Our video explains what consumers around the world told us about the value of financial planning in their lives and how life’s better with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional: