How financial advice firms can transform the financial wellbeing of the UK

The alignment between mental wellbeing and financial wellbeing is well known. The Money & Pensions Service puts it like this...

“People who experience financial wellbeing are less stressed about money. This, in turn, has positive effects on their overall mental and physical health, and on their relationships.”*

Financial Wellbeing and Mental Health

The effect of help with our finances is also well documented. A recent survey by Royal London**, for example, showed that support provided through financial advice helps reduce worry by more than half – 21% of advisers say their clients are anxious about the cost of living, compared with 46% of the wider population.

Challenges in Accessing Financial Advice

And yet, as we know, so many people in the UK are unable to access the financial advice and guidance that could make a difference to their financial wellbeing, and in turn their mental and physical wellbeing. The current UK cost of living crisis is serving to emphasise how important that is for our nation. We never know what’s coming around the corner and it is important that as a nation we are more financially resilient.

Digital Solutions for Financial Wellbeing

Wealth Wizards believes that using digital services is the only way our industry can viably help support the large number of people who need to better understand their finances and so improve their financial wellbeing. Giving people access to engaging services that deliver helpful, user-friendly, jargon-free material, which enable them to see how they can best manage their money, where they can save, how to invest, and what they need to do to secure their retirement, can help educate, build knowledge and engender greater financial confidence. From the perspective of an advice business, digital can help deliver this service cost effectively and resource efficiently. It can make serving lower value clients viable, and also open up new revenue streams, at scale, for progressive advice businesses. For larger advice firms, consolidators, networks and platforms, in particular, there are considerable opportunities to be had. Life assurers and banks are already employing digital financial guidance models to help people make better-informed decisions around their retirement savings and options.

The Modular Approach to Building Capability

And it doesn’t have to be an all or nothing approach. Businesses can build their capability on a modular level, adding more capability as it suits their business model. With the power of digital services, our industry is poised to unlock a whole new level of accessibility. Through cutting-edge technology, we can deliver financial advice to an expansive audience, while ensuring it remains cost-effective for businesses.

Just imagine the profound impact this can have on our financial wellbeing and, as a result, positively influence our mental wellbeing.

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Find out more about the Wealth Wizards platform and how it can automate key parts of the advice process for your clients and advisers.

‍Nick Hall CHARTERED FLIBF is a Business Development Director for Wealth Wizards.

Experienced in designing and implementing new propositions and platforms with automated advice. Chartered level 6 Investment management expert with IMC and five AFPCs. Experience with five major banks and building society advice models.

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‍^{* https://moneyandpensionsservice.org.uk/what-is-financial-wellbeing/}

^{** https://www.royallondon.com/about-us/media/media-centre/press-releases/press-releases-2023/may/the-emotional-value-of-financial-advice/}

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First published in IFA Magazine:

https://ifamagazine.com/article/how-we-can-help-improve-mental-wellbeing-in-the-uk/

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