'When I speak with teenagers, I assume the worst'

Part of the reason behind this is the memory of how she would have benefited from the right kind of financial advice when she turned 18. 

However, the chartered financial planner, who works for Timothy James & Partners, said: "Sadly, I did not get any professional financial advice. I would have liked it."

Ayres, whose approach to holistic financial advice for her clients is to offer a free coaching session to older teenagers and those young people who will ultimately be the recipient of an inheritance or trust fund, said it is important to remember what it is like to be young.

"Too often we get it wrong in our industry. We speak in ways that can often shut down conversations with young people.

I don't like the perception that financial planning or advice is just for the client.Jessica Ayres, Timothy James & Partners

"For example, young people now are hearing about cryptocurrency and have seen finfluencers on TikTok and they are asking questions about this. If we immediately shut down conversations and are dismissive, this can be counterproductive. 

"We need to change the way in which we have that dialogue when we talk to young people."

Ayres said if she had been given financial advice back when she was 17, that advice would have had to be relevant to her and what she was interested in.

"At the time I was very idealistic. I was all about animal welfare, ending homelessness, changing the world. 

"So if someone had said to me 'would you like to buy a house? I can help you save towards that', it would not have been on my radar."

Instead, she would have liked someone to tell her how she could invest in ways that can help the environment, or to learn how saving money can lead to philanthropy. 

"I wish I had been told some of these things before. So remembering this, I always try to see things from the young person's point of view.

"I assume the worst, in a sense. That is, I assume they have very little knowledge and their financial viewpoint is going to be very different from mine."

Organic conversations

So what do the young people she speaks to want?

"Well they are worried already about money. They are worried about student debt. They are concerned about paying their way. They also naturally want to have a good time - they're young, after all."

"When I speak with them the conversations just evolve and you can get a good understanding of where the young person is coming from," she said. 

Her conversations with the children and grandchildren of her clients "developed organically", she explained, as a result of the holistic financial planning she does with parents and grandparents.

"They are conscious about the barriers in the mortgage market and wonder if their kids will ever get onto the housing ladder, or they are concerned about whether their kids can afford university fees. 

"Sometimes they tell me their child is already focused and sensible and manages their online banking account. Other children may seem not to care, because they fritter away their allowance on clothes. 

"So I tell them if they are investing for their children and setting up things such as Junior Isas, they need to have that conversation: when the child turns 18, what will they be like with their money? That's why I offered to speak with their children."

Ayres said sometimes the parents can be a bit apprehensive but this has gathered momentum over the past couple of years. 

I look at this as I would for any long-term business planning.

For example, she recently had a chat with a "spectacular" student at Oxford, who had a bullet point of everything she wanted to ask. Over the next 45 minutes, Ayres said they chatted about the student's future, and the sort of flexibility that needed to be put into place.

Ayres explained that it is vital for holistic financial planning to bring in everyone who will ultimately benefit from the wealth.

"I don't like the perception that financial planning or advice is just for the client. It's about the whole family. So the whole family should be involved in conversations. 

"And it's not just for the wealthy or those who get a lump sum inheritance or who sell a business.

"We need to help young people create financial plans. These might not always involve investments at the start - they might be around university fees and debt and whether the student plans to do something that means they might never need to pay the debt back."

Moreover, Ayres explained, it is also about sustaining your own client base. "If you see it from a business point of view, these children will be getting a lot of money from their parents and grandparents. The great wealth transfer is taking place. 

"I don't charge for these sessions as I look at this as I would for any long-term business planning. For example, when seeing a new client, I would have a qualifying call for 10 or 15 minutes where we decide whether I can help them. And then I will have an initial meeting, which is at our cost. 

"We need to think in terms of working with someone for the long-term. And, as I have already been doing that child's financial planning with the parent or grandparent, talking with them is just another piece in the puzzle."

The parent trap

Ayres said this is brought home to her every day because her 16-year-old daughter is always engaging with her parents about business and finance. 

"She keeps sending me financial hacks from TikTok. On the one hand it is really worrying content, such as 'How to become a property guru' or the latest 'get-rich-quick-scheme'.

"But I don't want to quell her interest, so while I am concerned about the information she and her peers are getting and where they are getting it from, I thank her for them and I talk with her about financial planning and goal-setting and diversification."

Plus, Ayres said, you never hear about the bad stories on TikTok and therefore people are getting some unrealistic ideas, as well as conflicting information. 

What does Ayres talk about with young people? "Everything".

She said: "Their bank accounts, how to set a budget, lLifetime Isas, Junior Isas, what their parents and grandparents are doing and why they are doing it. 

"And every now and then someone will come back to me via email with a follow up question or just to keep in contact with me. It is a different take on financial advice and I think they appreciate it."

simoney.kyriakou@ft.com

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