If the recession has any pluses at all, it’s that people now seem to be more mindful of how uncertain the market—and their future—really is.
While the impact of that mindfulness isn’t huge, financial planners are now reporting that 19% of calls they received in the first quarter were about retirement planning, up from 13% in the fourth quarter.
This is according to a report by Financial Finesse, a trends researcher in Manhattan Beach, Calif., that analyzed 1,340 phone and email queries sent to its 10 financial consultants.
To be fair, most consumers last year were still too shell-shocked to be so forward thinking. People are starting, however, to shift from reactive, “How am I going to make ends meet?” questions to the more proactive, goal-driven planning. Proactive interest in money management and debt management also increased from the fourth quarter to the first quarter.
“With consumers finally getting their debt to a more manageable level, and with more of a long-term focus back to their retirement plans, this provides a window of opportunity for advisers to seek out additional clients that are hungry to get back on track with investing for their futures,” says Linda Robertson, a CFP at Financial Finesse.
Stock is the editor of Bank Investment Consultant, a SourceMedia publication.
