Investors Say Advisers Help Them Save More

The research found that investors who work with an adviser feel more knowledgeable about investments and more confident in their ability to enjoy retirement, and they sasaving more.

ING Retirement Research Institute analyzed data from more than 14,000 users who used INGCompareMe.com – a Web site in which users can enter their personal information to see where they stand in relation to others on saving, spending, investing, debt, and personal finance matters. One question asks how much time they spend with a financial adviser; possible response choices ranged from no time to a lot of time.   

According to the data, those who spent “some time” with an adviser (31%) reported saving, on average, more than twice as much for retirement as those who spent “no time.”  The number jumped even higher–more than three times as much–for those who spent “a lot of time” getting such help.

Spending time with a financial professional impacted how an individual invested with respect to their asset allocation. According to the data, a majority (60%) of those who spent some time or a lot of time with an adviser considered themselves to be moderate investors. The number who characterized themselves as moderate dropped to less than half (48%) when they spent very little or no time, and thus tended to be more conservative.

Confidence about future financial success also varied greatly between those who spent “a lot of time” versus “no time” with a financial professional.  More than six-in-ten (62%) of those who spent a lot of time with one said they were highly confident about enjoying their retirement.  For those who spent no time, only about one-third (34%) reported the same level of confidence.