Financial advisers’ mental health and wellbeing has improved, though still worse than the average NZ worker
AIA NZ has released a report looking into financial advisers’ health and wellbeing, following on from the research they sponsored in 2021. While overall wellbeing showed signs of improvement, stress was still a concerning factor. In 2021, government regulation was the highest cause of stress for advisers (61%); this year’s highest stressor was compliance, with 50% of respondents rating it as ‘highly’ or ‘very highly’ stressful. In both years, work overload was the second most stressful issue (at 42.2% in 2021 and 36.7% in 2023).
The number of advisers who have said they will continue in the industry has increased significantly, up to 93% from 84% in 2021. Work life balance has improved, with 37.2% of those surveyed working 35 to 40 hours per week and 8% less working over 50 hours per week compared to 2021.
The report includes a breakdown of where advisers spend their time, showing the wide variety of tasks that make up an adviser’s job. Only 12.23% of their time is spent on actually providing advice.
Recommendations for improving wellbeing and mental health include: seek help from industry support services; be an active member in networks; engage in recovery activities like exercise, meditation, hobbies, social activities; seek admin help to free up time to focus on client work; use systems that automate processes; get support from counsellors or psychologists when experiencing mental stress; minimise crossovers between work and home; and focus on the business.
Sharron Botica, AIA NZ Chief Partnership Distribution Officer, says
“…it’s encouraging to see signs of improvement across the board, however, the impact that stress is having on adviser health and wellbeing is a concerning factor which needs to be addressed,”
“We believe our role as leaders in the industry is to ensure our advisers have the tools and support to be mentally healthy, focus on their wellbeing, and have the opportunity to thrive and do what they do best every day.”
The research was conducted by Dr Adam Fraser, founder of The e-lab, and Dr John Molineux from Deakin University and participants included life and health insurance advisers, business owners, home loan advisers, investment advisers, risk advisers, sole trader advisers, and general advisers, aged 18 to over 60, who were either qualified, partly-qualified, or unqualified.
More daily news:
Financial Advice NZ webinar 'Super Wednesday' 7 February
NZIER predicts general slowdown for NZ economy
Bell Gully give overview of RBNZ’s proposed policy recommendations for amendments to IPSA
Boutique investment managers want FMA compliance expectations scaled back