AT ALL STAGES OF LIFE, A FINANCIAL PLAN OFFERS A ROAD MAP TO WELL-BEING
Study reveals that Canadians with financial plans feel they are saving more, living well and experiencing higher levels of overall contentment in their lives.
The results of a three-year longitudinal study that included close to 15,000 Canadians provide important insight into the potentially life-changing impact of financial planning.
The Value of Financial Planning, commissioned by Financial Planning Standards Council (FPSC) in conjunction with the FP Foundation, provides a comprehensive evaluation of the financial planning activities of Canadians, measuring its perceived impact on emotional and financial well-being.
According to the study findings, Canadians who engage in comprehensive financial planning report significantly higher levels of financial and emotional well-being than those who do no planning or only limited planning. Those with comprehensive plans feel:
more on track with their financial goals and retirement plans;
they have improved their ability to save in the past five years;
more confident they can deal with financial challenges; and
better able to indulge in their discretionary spending goals.
Further, regardless of net worth, Canadians who engage Certified Financial Planner® (CFP) professionals for their financial planning needs report they are experiencing significantly higher levels of financial and emotional well-being.
“Having a comprehensive financial plan with the guidance of a CFP professional can provide a road map towards greater financial and emotional well-being,” says Cary List, president and CEO of FPSC. “Now with three years of empirical research reinforcing the value of planning with the right professional, we urge Canadians to take that step and talk to a CFP professional about their goals and financial planning needs.”
The Value of Financial Planning, a three-year study involving close to 15,000 Canadians, measured the perceived impact of financial planning on the emotional and financial well-being of Canadians. Here are several highlights:
Three years of empirical research clearly and consistently revealed that regardless of net worth, those Canadians who engage in comprehensive financial planning with a CFP professional confirm significantly higher levels of financial and emotional well-being. Further results from the Value of Financial Planning study are forthcoming. Raw data collected for the report has been made available to post-secondary institutions across the country for further analysis.
For the purposes of this study, financial planning was defined as follows:
Comprehensive Planning (CP): The main financial adviser has provided financial planning for major life goals and events, or at least three of the planning components: household budgeting, tax, retirement, estate planning, investing, debt or risk management.
Limited Planning (LP): The main financial adviser has provided advice or services related to one or two of the planning components.
No Planning (NP): There has been no help obtained from a financial adviser, regardless of the situation.
Discipline is what it takes to block out the noise, commitment is what it takes to walk the path to financial success and patience is what it takes to reach the goal.