Fairstone is launching a junior finance academy to help inform the children of its clients on important financial issues.
It said the platform, which has been developed by university academics in partnership with financial institutions, will help children learn about money in a fun and accessible way.
This comes as the firm conducted its annual research which found a third of people in their twenties taking financial advice wished they’d started at an even younger age.
A further 50 per cent of people polled across all age groups echoed this sentiment, with 98 percent saying starting a financial plan as early as possible was beneficial.
Lee Hartley, chief executive officer at Fairstone, said the latest survey painted a changing landscape for the future of financial services and had implications for both financial advisers and their clients.
“One statistic that stood out was that 98 per cent of clients thought that starting a financial plan as early as possible was critically important,” he said.
“On a broader stage though, there is still much to be done across the sector to educate people about the importance of seeking financial advice and the value in starting that journey as early as possible.
“That poses a challenge and a wake-up call to our sector; as financial institutions we need to be focussed on assisting consumers to have access to first-class advice and support at the right time in their lives, to empower and enable them to make better financial decisions.”
The survey polled over 1,600 of Fairstone’s clients as part of a new report, entitled Changing Landscape: Retirement is not just for the old.
It found one in 10 clients over 65 had started financial advice in their 20s and around 40 per cent of clients had started in their 40s.
Around 69 per cent of clients also said they had introduced their children or grandchildren to the concept of financial advice.
Hartley said: “It is important for younger generations to be educated and informed on financial matters to demystify the subject and to empower them with the confidence to start their financial journey early.
“These conversations should start within the family as savings and investment habits develop over a lifetime, with family culture and age all impacting on decisions that are made.”
He added: “As a sector we need to prepare ourselves for the future where the younger generation will be with more money that they are used to having and needing to make it work harder than ever before.”
Meanwhile, the survey also found that around 87 per cent of clients had made changes in their savings to account for the fact people are living longer.
