FINANCIAL PLANNING REVIEW最新文献

This study utilizes data from seven waves of the Survey of Consumer Finances to investigate how financial planning advice moderates the relationship between self-reported financial risk tolerance and two aspects of investment behavior: stock market participation and the proportion of financial wealth allocated to stocks. Regression analyses, which controlled for demographic and socio-economic factors, indicated that individuals with the lowest self-reported risk tolerance were significantly more likely to invest in stocks and allocate a larger share of their financial assets to equities when they received advice from a financial planner. This effect remained consistent regardless of whether stock market participation was measured through direct investments or indirect equity ownership via exchange traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, or retirement accounts. In contrast, for individuals with high risk tolerance, the use of a financial planner had no significant impact on direct stock ownership and was associated with a reduction in the proportion of financial wealth allocated to directly held stocks. However, for households with moderate to high risk tolerance, financial planner use still increased both stock market participation and the share of wealth allocated to equities when indirect holdings through ETFs, mutual funds, or retirement accounts were included in the definition of stock investments. These findings suggest that financial planners guide moderately and highly risk-tolerant investors away from direct stock ownership and toward more diversified equity investments.

This paper explores the role of financial literacy in US healthcare access before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We use survey data from the 2018 and 2021 National Financial Capability Study (NFCS) waves. We estimate weighted logistic regression models for the combined 2018 and 2021 samples separately, using two measures of financial literacy, namely subjective (SFL) and objective (OFL) financial literacy. To measure the healthcare access of the respondents, five outcomes are analyzed: health insurance coverage, unpaid medical bills, foregone care due to cost, skipped care due to cost, and not filling a prescription due to cost. The results show that overall, the odds of healthcare access improve with higher levels of both SFL and OFL, as hypothesized. Estimation results from various subsamples, point to varying levels of disparities across socioeconomic and demographic groups. This paper also provides empirical evidence on the minimal yet significant association between financial literacy and better access to health care before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings underscore the need for researchers, social workers, and policymakers to promote financial literacy to improve healthcare access.

The shift to defined contribution savings plans means that more retirees must fund spending from savings. Prior studies find that retirees spend less from savings than life cycle models predict. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we explore how lifetime income, wage income, capital income, qualified savings, and nonqualified savings are used to fund retirement spending. We find that retirees spend far more from lifetime income than other categories of wealth. Approximately 80% of lifetime income is consumed, on average, versus only approximately half of other available savings and income sources. We also find evidence of the importance of mental accounting in framing savings as income from an increase in spending from qualified savings after required minimum distributions begin. Overall, the analysis suggests that retirees could increase spending by converting wealth to lifetime income or following spending rules that shift investments into liquid savings.

We create a Personal Finance Motivation scale to measure the motivation to understand and manage one's personal finances. The scale is designed to measure intrinsic motivation, four forms of extrinsic motivation (identified, introjected, external material, and external social regulation), and amotivation. These subscales fall along a self-determination continuum as postulated by Deci and Ryan (1985). We validate the scale using survey data and hypotheses drawn from Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Correlations among the subscales and Cronbach's alpha support the scale's factor structure and indicate internal consistency. Regression results indicate that intrinsic motivation and a composite of intrinsic motivation and identified regulation are associated with respondents' assessments of the importance of finance and their own competence related to financial decision-making, when respondents have someone to help them make decisions, and when respondents are not financially dependent on another. We conclude that our Personal Finance Motivation scale is sound and that its subscales are related to competence, relatedness, and autonomy as predicted by SDT. We discuss applications for researchers, instructors, and financial advisors.

Women are significantly underrepresented in the financial planning profession. This gender gap is surprising given the potential for higher income, the opportunity to help clients, and work-life balance in financial planning, traits typically attractive to female candidates. Research into the broader workforce suggests inadequate return to work and family leave policies as major reasons women leave their jobs. This study employs an exploratory qualitative approach, conducting focus groups with women who had children while working as financial planners. The aim is to identify factors that promote and hinder women's representation in financial planning, reducing attrition, and increasing success rates. Guided by social exchange theory, five online focus groups were conducted (n = 26). Thematic analysis revealed five key themes: (1) diverse parental leave experiences, (2) trying to find balance, (3) changes needed at the societal level, (4) changes needed specifically in financial planning, and (5) aspects that make financial planning potentially a great profession for women. Findings are linked to previous research, discussing implications for future research and practical applications.

This study examines how the ChatGPT Model 3.5, a large language model, exhibits implicit bias when generating financial planning communications with varying racial identifiers. Using a structured testing framework with 25 combinations of advisor–client racial identifiers, we analyzed AI-generated emails explaining investment diversification. Through content and discourse analysis informed by Critical Algorithm Studies, we found that while core financial advice remained consistent, subtle linguistic variations emerged based on racial identifiers. These variations manifested primarily as unconscious adjustments in tone, cultural references, and language choice rather than substantive differences in financial guidance. Drawing on recent research in AI bias, we introduce a novel 2 × 2 matrix categorizing AI biases along dimensions of explicitness and intentionality. Our findings suggest that even in professional contexts, AI systems may reflect societal patterns encoded in their training data, potentially influencing advisor–client communications. As financial planners increasingly adopt AI tools for client communications and administrative tasks, understanding these subtle biases becomes crucial for maintaining professional standards and fiduciary responsibilities. This research contributes to the growing literature on AI applications in financial planning while highlighting important considerations for practitioners using AI-powered tools in their practice.

This report introduces a new data resource, the Financial Planning Longitudinal Study (FPLS). This is the first wave of a 10-year project underwritten by the CFP Board with the goal of tracking the use of professional financial services by a representative sample of mass affluent households in the US. This study describes the development of the survey and summarizes the descriptive findings across respondents who report not using a financial professional, those who report using a CFP professional, as well as those who report using another type of financial professional. The FPLS data offer new insights into how people use financial professionals, as well as potential new directions for researchers in the future.

This paper contributes to our understanding of wealth decumulation behavior by examining trends in retirement, Social Security claiming, and annuitization decisions. Prior research suggests that while these decisions have high stakes for retirement security, people may not make them optimally. I use data from the Health and Retirement Study to examine the joint timing of these decisions. I show that younger birth cohorts are less likely than older ones to use “parallel” strategies—simultaneously retiring and commencing Social Security, or simultaneously commencing Social Security and a life annuity. Regression analysis suggests that parallel strategies are associated with defined benefit pension coverage and eligibility, being subject to the Social Security earnings test (which forces affected individuals who work while receiving Social Security to delay a portion of their benefits), and poor health. I also find that younger cohorts are more likely than older ones to forgo annuitization altogether—a trend that likely reflects declining coverage by defined benefit pensions, which typically feature annuitization as the default option. Higher real interest rates are associated with both earlier retirement and an increased propensity to start receiving a life annuity.

Financial advisors are professionals with a high level of financial knowledge and skills, but do they use their own working experience to achieve financial health? In fact, little is known whether financial advisors utilize their financial capability and adopt financial behavior, and how they ensure their own financial well-being and mitigate financial stress. Based on the capability approach and previous studies, an online questionnaire was developed and sent to a sample of financial advisors in the USA. We received 232 valid responses, and the results suggest that financial advisors' capability can address financial well-being and financial stress. However, their own financial behavior, per se, does not. To solve this dilemma, the study emphasizes the effect of regularly practicing lifelong learning and physical activity. Our study also offers insights that help institutions that organize the career requirements of financial advisors.