Brits take money advice from family, rather than financial advisers

CONSUMERS are more likely to take financial advice from a member of their family than from professional advisers, RateSetter has found.

While almost half of people across the UK have never asked anyone for financial advice, 38 per cent have gone to family members for suggestions on how to invest their money and only 25 per cent have gone to a professional financial adviser.

The research, released on Tuesday by the peer-to-peer platform, showed that under-35s are most likely to go to their parents for advice, but one in ten over-55s have asked their adult children for money tips. Meanwhile, five per cent of under-35s said that they had advised their grandparents on money at some point.

“We’ve heard how millennials are tapping the ‘bank of mum and dad’ for things like a deposit to buy a house, and this research shows that parents and grandparents are important and trusted sources of financial advice too,” said Lucy Bott, head of customer operations at RateSetter. “Perhaps more surprising is that many parents are now turning the tables, seeking advice from their grown up children.

“The key thing is to keep your finances under review – and with interest rates recently cut even closer to zero, it is all the more important not to bury your head in the sand and hope for the best. Putting money to work now can help turn dreams for the future into reality.”

Among those who have provided advice, the most popular topic was savings, followed by credit cards and loans.

However, more than half (52 per cent) of under-35s said that they are likely to use a professional financial adviser in the future, compared with 41 per cent of people aged 35 to 55 and just 25 per cent of over-55s.