“Advisers have a job because we don’t talk everyday language,” Peter Matthew told International Adviser.
The IFA of 21 years, and host of financial services podcast Meaningful Money, highlighted the gap between the advisory industry and the people it is supposed to work for.
The jargon and entitlement plaguing the sector does very little to help clients understand their financial situation. In fact, as IA reported in March 2019, only 13% of Brits actually understand the language used by advisers.
“We need to get out of our own asses and stop thinking about how important we are. It’s people that we need to be passionate about – not money. That’s really what financial planning is about.
“Money is just something we never talk about. We talk more about sex than we do about money,” Matthew said.
Creating a ‘trust gap’
As a result, people are turning to more unconventional means to get advice. Because, according to the podcaster, people still want to be advised when it comes to money.
“I think our industry hugely underestimates the trust gap and what a big deal it is.
“Simplicity is key, and I do believe the industry needs to learn from that,” he added.
People want to know what is going on with their money in plain, simple English; something Matthew’s friends told him he was really good at.
For him, it all started in 2009 with short YouTube videos explaining the basics of financial planning.
When he recorded the first episode of Meaningful Money in November 2012, Matthew had little idea that he would end up with over two million downloads and around 100,000 listeners each month.
It’s all about the people
According to Matthew, traditional financial advice and planning is not really working anymore.
“We need to be much better at helping people help themselves.
“We need to stop thinking about how important we are, and instead understand that it’s people that we need to be passionate about, not money.
“That’s really what financial planning is about.”
Matthew is also the managing director of Jacksons Wealth Management, but he told IA, that he is reducing the firm’s assets under management to focus more on pure planning.
“I’m just a normal guy from Penzance [in Cornwall] trying to help as many people as I can. And, as long as I can do that, I will.
Listeners’ concerns and hunger for advice
Listeners to Matthew’s podcast often send him queries regarding their financial positions.
The most popular question he gets asked is about balance.
“’How do I split my savings between my pension and Isa? How do I balance saving for retirement with saving for today?’ Those are the most frequent questions,” he said.
He has also been able to increase his reach – and buy more equipment – thanks to a sponsorship with investment management firm 7IM.
The firm has also recently rolled out a self-investment online tool in partnership with Matthew’s podcast.
“I tend to preach passive multi-asset investing on the show, and essentially, this is a hands-off type investment solution.”
