Blue Chip Issue 89

BLUE
CHIP
FPI | Research
The power of professional
financial planning
CFP® professionals benefit their clients holistically in ways beyond growing their wealth. Clients realise this, as
shown in the FPI and Financial Planning Standards Board’s Value of Financial Planning Research 2023 study.
A
significant study by the Financial Planning Standards
Board (FPSB) shows that South Africans who work with
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP®) professionals
have a better quality of life, enjoy greater financial
confidence and resilience and are more satisfied with their financial
situation than people who have non-CFP® financial advisors or
who do not use an advisor.
The FPSB Value of Financial Planning Research 2023 study
took the form of an online survey of 15 332 respondents
across 15 countries in February 2023 by independent research
company MYMAVINS.
The research had three objectives:
1. Lead the conversation about financial planning.
2. Measure the benefits of CFP® professionals.
3. Understand next-generation clients.
The study examined the value of financial planning for consumers
while debunking myths surrounding financial planning and
analysing the future of the profession.
The South African survey, undertaken in conjunction with the
FPI, involved 1 005 respondents. To be included in the survey,
respondents had to be over 25 years of age and earn over
R1-million a year or hold more than R600 000 in investable assets.
The sample included both advised and unadvised consumers.
Advised consumers (519 respondents) were those who were
currently working with a financial planner, who sought financial
advice as needed or who had received financial planning
advice in the past three years. They included 105 clients of CFP®
professionals. Unadvised consumers (486 consumers) were those
who had never received advice from a financial planner or had not
received advice in the past three years. Table 1 gives a breakdown
of employed versus retired respondents.
KEY FINDINGS
The survey introduced the FPSB Value of Financial Planning Index,
a quantitative measure of the financial and non-financial value for
consumers of financial planning across four metrics: quality of life,
financial confidence, financial satisfaction and experienced value.
The index measures differences between those who do not
use a financial planner and those who do (scores range from 0 to
100). The CFP® Professional Delta is the positive difference a CFP®
professional has on the lives of clients.
1. Quality of life. Non-financial personal assets are the key
pillars of a “good life”. They include health, personal connections,
capabilities, purpose and life satisfaction. A CFP® Professional
Table 1: Employment status of respondents.
22 www.bluechipdigital.co.za