Pensions and life giant Aegon has become the first partner member of the Initiative for Financial Wellbeing.
The IFW, a non-profit organisation launched last year to support the financial planning industry, announced yesterday (July 13) it had partnered with Aegon to promote financial wellbeing among its clients and employees.
The partnership will include a number of initiatives throughout the year, such as developing content and research, joint events and webinars and creating online services and tools.
Chris Budd, chairman of the IFW, said: “We are delighted to mark another significant milestone for the IFW in signing our first partner member.
“It is crucial to us that any company we work with acts as a partner, not just a sponsor, and we look forward to working with Aegon to further our mutual goal of improving the financial wellbeing of individuals to help them be happier, not just wealthier.”
The IFW is actively seeking corporates to partner with.
It has recently launched a series of initiatives to support people with managing their financial wellbeing, particularly financial resilience through the virus crisis, while its Financial Coaching Stream includes budgeting and money saving webinars, financial coaching, and group support with a network of financial coaches.
Mr Budd has previously appeared on the FTAdviser podcast series, urging advisers to talk about happiness and wellbeing with their clients rather than focusing solely on money.
Mark Till, managing director at Aegon UK, said: “The recent market volatility and financial uncertainty has put an enormous amount of pressure on people and their finances.
“With a growing number of people living on a financial cliff edge carrying the burden of financial obligations and commitments, the importance of understanding and protecting your finances has never been clearer.”
Mr Till said financial advice was key to improving financial wellbeing, adding that “supporting and helping advisers and their clients” was “core” to Aegon’s work.
He added: “We look forward to partnering with the IFW to build on our existing work to improve financial wellbeing and demonstrate the true value of financial advice.”
imogen.tew@ft.com
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