Your IndustryOct 11 2021

Next gen advisers 'much more interested in behavioural aspects of finance'

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Next gen advisers 'much more interested in behavioural aspects of finance'

The next generation of financial advisers is “exciting” due to their fresh approach to financial planning, the head of the UK and Ireland adviser group at Dimensional Fund Advisors has said. 

David Jones told FTAdviser the number of one-man-band advisers operating was shrinking, as it’s “just way too complex and risky" a business model, and said the next generation of financial advisers was “exciting” due to their client-centric approach. 

“You’re looking at people in their late 20s and early 30s who are coming up through the profession, these could be the business owners currently or business owners in the future.

"And that is an exciting development because this generation is very client centric, very focused on financial planning, and much more interested in the behavioural aspects of finance than perhaps the previous generation was."

He added: “It has become really interesting that the financial planning profession has become quite attractive to young professionals because they recognise that it’s exciting to deal with people and solve their problems. It’s very future based compared with some of the more traditional professional jobs.”

Jones began his career as a financial adviser, joining Dimensional nearly 13 years ago. He has been head of the firm’s UK & Ireland adviser group for just under three years, working with a team of regional directors who work with advisers. 

Dimensional Fund Advisors is a private investment firm headquartered in Austin, Texas, and has offices across the UK, Canada, as well as Australia, Singapore and Japan.

Jones believes advisers are realising that their value-add is not doing the investment managing themselves.

“I think advisers are moving away from being the investment managers themselves and saying, let the people who understand the role of really managing portfolios do that, which allows us to deliver a cost-effective service to our clients.”

He added this was leading to competitive pressures, which was driving prices down. 

“This is about helping advisers deliver a great outcome to clients and there are more ways than one to deliver that, we think we’ve got a very good one.” 

sally.hickey@ft.com