DOI: 10.1111/acfi.13099
R E SEA RCH A RTICLE
The value of personal professional financial advice to
clients: A systematic quantitative literature review
Kirsten L. MacDonald
Karen Wildman
| Ellana Loy
Department of Accounting, Finance and
Economics, Griffith Business School,
Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus,
Southport, Queensland, Australia
Correspondence
Kirsten L. MacDonald, Department of
Accounting, Finance and Economics,
Griffith Business School, Griffith
University, Gold Coast Campus, Southport,
Qld 4215, Australia.
Email: k.macdonald@griffith.edu.au
Funding information
AMP Financial Services Ltd; Griffith
University
| Mark Brimble
|
Abstract
Financial advice is perceived to be inaccessible and complicated with consumers at the mercy of a sector under
sustained scrutiny, raising questions about value for clients. This study systematically reviews the literature on
the value of financial advice. Extant research focuses on
financial benefits and lacks a holistic view of value and
the factors impacting it. Gaps exist across non-­f inancial
benefits, geographic regions and over time. We call for a
sustained and coordinated approach to research in this
field. The findings inform consumer engagement strategies, policies concerning the uptake of professional financial advice and development of the profession.
K EY WOR DS
financial planning, financial services, professions, value of advice,
wellbeing
J EL CLA S SI F ICAT ION
D14, G20, G50, I31
1
|
I N T RODUC T ION
The resilience of household and personal finances has been put to the test with the global financial crisis (GFC), COVID-­19 and other financial schemes and scams. Add to this financial
illiteracy and a complex array of financial products and services, and one begins to understand the difficult task consumers have in navigating a path to financial independence and
wellbeing. A household with a robust long-­term financial plan would be more likely to have
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits
use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial
purposes.
© 2023 The Authors. Accounting & Finance published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Accounting and Finance
Association of Australia and New Zealand.
Accounting & Finance. 2023;00:1–31.
wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/acfi
| 1
| liquidity reserves, accumulated assets, an understanding of market behaviour, less reliance on
government support, and other advantages in terms of overall wellbeing (Irving et al., 2011).
Emerging research undertaken during the pandemic finds that those in long-­term advice relationships are better prepared financially and behaviourally (in terms of market volatility) and
thus are more likely to be able to ‘ride out the storm’ and not be forced to liquidate assets at
market lows or panic sell (Loy et al., 2021).
One would then assume that financial advice would be front and centre as a trusted profession that assists consumers with establishing financial plans, empowering clients to take
ownership of their financial future and to promote effective financial decision-­making (Hunt
et al., 2011). While many advisers embody this ideal, the industry at large has failed to live up
to its potential. Financial advice remains one of the least trusted professions, impacted by a
litany of advice and product failures that have resulted in continued negative attention by the
media, regulators and legislators, including the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the
Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry in Australia. Recognition by the
Australian government of the economic and social importance of financial advice led to a
reform program to establish ethical and education standards to ensure advisers are professionally competent:
These reforms will deliver significant benefits to consumers by building trust and
confidence in the financial advice industry, by ensuring that people have access
to financial advisers who will put their interests first, and who are professionally
competent and ethical
(Australian Government, 2016, p. 1).
The approach to drive the industry towards a profession through legislation is interesting in the context of history because it lacks the self-­regulatory and organic development
of professions over much longer periods of time. Greenwood (1957) identifies five common
attributes of a profession: (i) systematic theory or body of knowledge; (ii) authority; (iii) community sanction; (iv) ethical codes; and (v) culture. The professional standards regime aligns
with these attributes in terms of both the design of the regime and what it seeks to achieve
–­a trustworthy profession. Interestingly, recent research points to progress being made with
consumers agreeing with the framework (e.g., 94% agree with an adviser exam, 76% the education requirements and 93% the professional year for new advisers) and 69% of surveyed
consumers reporting that they are much more, or somewhat more, likely to seek financial
advice as a result (Hoyle, 2021).
In relation to the first attribute, the academic literature has pointed out a theory of Financial
Planning and related body of knowledge is yet to emerge and that the academic community
has a clear role to play in supporting the development of the profession in this regard (Black
et al., 2002; Brimble & Murphy, 2012). One important area of research that has received little
attention to the take up of financial advice over time, is an understanding of how the financial
advice provided to a client creates positive outcomes and value. This is often expected to be
implicit in the provision of professional services, however, in an emerging profession such as
financial advice, providing robust empirical evidence and articulating this clearly and concisely to consumers is important. The Code of Ethics implemented as part of recent Australian
reforms specifically calls out elements of client value in relation to fees and charges levied on
clients (Australian Government, 2019). Thus, we posit that the holistic value of financial advice
has not been extensively examined.
While financial advisers provide a valuable service, several of the benefits, such as peace of
mind, are intangible and difficult to measure. Others, such as investment returns, can be easier
to quantify, but not immediately realised or visible in the short term. Financial outcomes may
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be hampered by client goals or biases, time horizon and other circumstances leading some
to suggest that financial outcomes alone are an incomplete measure of value (e.g., Marsden
et al., 2011). A research-­informed approached is required to map the diversity within the value
domain and inform consumer engagement strategies.
This paper conducts a systematic review of the literature on the value of professional financial advice to clients to: (i) determine if there is any consensus on defining ‘value’; (ii)
summarise and evaluate the body of literature that has identified variables relevant to measuring value; and (iii) improve understanding of the focus and findings of existing research to
identify viable future research directions. This paper is strategically important to the emerging
academic discipline of Financial Planning because it investigates the social and economic benefits of broadening the accessibility of financial advice to all consumers and helps to further
develop the body of knowledge.
The reviewed body of literature examined various elements of the value of financial advice
and themes explored by researchers in particular regions that have waxed and waned over
time. Most research since 1985 has been conducted in North America, the United Kingdom
(UK) and Europe, but, overall, the volume is modest and peaks around the period of the GFC.
The majority is also in the investment field, signalling that some of the specific issues in relation to the GFC are of more interest to researchers who perhaps have less long-­term interest
in researching Personal Finance. It is also noticeable that of the studies published in higher
ranked journals, most relate to investments where there are many established journals. The
few specific journals in Personal Finance are new or lower ranked journals which risks being a
disincentive for researchers. While research interest in this area has increased in recent years,
the use of outdated data in the lead into and during the COVID-­19 pandemic is concerning
and highlights the need for scholars to use more contemporary data that better reflects clients'
experiences during times of crisis.
We conclude that there is significant need for research into the value of professional financial advice and that this work has a unique opportunity to inform the development of a new
profession. In particular, there is a need for empirical research that explores the holistic impact
of financial advice on consumers and households and the value this creates over time. Such
work would be of interest to practitioners, business owners, policy-­makers and the research
community and be impactful in terms of contributing to the development of a trustworthy
profession to the benefit of all.
The remainder of this paper is organised as follows. The next section explains the systematic
quantitative literature review (SQLR) methodology. Section 3 presents the results and Section
4 contains concluding comments and future research directions.
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M ET HOD OL OGY
The use of the SQLR methodology is motivated by the need to present objective evidence about
the state of the emerging field to advance the financial advice profession and associated body
of knowledge. An SQLR represents a review process that is systematic, comprehensive and
reproducible, and free from the potential bias of a narrative literature review (Pickering &
Byrne, 2014; Tranfield et al., 2003).1 Systematic reviews feature in various domains including
the social sciences and business and are well suited for documenting the current body of knowledge and identifying areas in need of future research. The following four sections summarise
the methodology.
1
Bias is minimised through the systematic collection of data which results in a larger sample than a narrative literature review,
with recording of data and evaluation of evidence against a pre-­determined set of criteria (Tranfield et al., 2003).
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| 2.1 | Research design and planning
In line with SQLR protocols, the authors reflected upon the scope of the SQLR and conducted a preliminary search to test the search terms. Based on the premise that value is an
‘interactive relativistic preference experience’ which consists of multiple interrelated dimensions (Holbrook, 2002, p. 5), financial advice is posited to have benefits beyond financial dimensions, including on clients' wellbeing. Reflecting on value through the lenses of Personal
Finance, advice seeking and wellbeing, Figure 1 further guided the search protocol design and
development of the following research questions:
RQ1: What are the characteristics of the literature reporting on the value of personal professional financial advice to clients?
RQ2: How is value to clients measured in the context of personal professional financial
advice?
RQ3: What gaps exist in our understanding of the value of professional financial advice to
clients?
2.2 | Data sources and search strategy
Our desire to capture the state of knowledge and research directions around the value of financial advice, along with the emergence of Financial Planning as an academic discipline and
profession, drove our decision to include grey literature alongside peer-­reviewed academic literature. Grey literature has played a strong role in challenging aspects of government policy in
FIGURE 1
Conceptualisation of the value of financial advice.
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Australia and abroad, often using a rigorous methodology, large data sets and produced with
academic consultants or reputable research houses. Moreover, incorporating grey literature is
a recommended strategy by esteemed Cochrane review protocols for reducing publication bias
(McKenzie et al., 2019). Thus, professional body and government reports together provide an important source of contemporary data to investigate whether academic, industry and government
priorities are aligned, and whether the perspectives are informed by rigorous research. Similarly,
a low journal ranking was not disqualified from the sample, assuming it met all inclusion criteria.
The grey literature, however, is not subject to the same degree of critical peer-­review or academic
rigour in sampling and data collection (Conn et al., 2003; Kitchenham et al., 2009). Assessing the
quality of grey literature can be more difficult given the lack of consistency across publications.
Quality checklists that support ranking or selection of such literature offer a structured approach
to this process. We utilised the Tyndall (2010) checklist for all non-­peer-­reviewed literature to
ensure the quality of the SQLR methodology and results. The reviewers agreed on 151 out of 170
(89%) of the grey literature screened. A third team member was used to reach consensus.
Searches were conducted using Scopus, Web of Science, Google and Google Scholar, with
a cut-­off date of January 2021. Multiple databases were employed to increase the chance of
locating all relevant studies. Scopus and Web of Science were chosen for their relevance to
Personal Finance and Health, while Google Scholar was used for its broad scope given the
multi-­disciplinary nature of this study. Additionally, Google searches were conducted to capture studies published by government and professional authors. Appendix Table A1 sets out
the keywords including ‘financial advi*’, ‘financial planning’, ‘value’, ‘outcomes’, ‘wellbeing’
and ‘performance’. Search terms were applied to title, keywords, abstract and full study text,
with thousands of potential studies being scanned for inclusion. Searches continued until there
were at least five pages of search results with no relevant literature found. Reference lists were
also examined for additional studies not found in the extensive database searches. Results
were limited to publications in English, which has a limited impact on the results given the
geographic patterns of the literature discussed in subsection 3.2.
2.3 | Search execution
Figure 2 maps the search of the peer-­reviewed and grey literature which yielded 1716 records
for initial review. Subsequent reviews of reference lists led to an additional 341 studies identified, with a total of 1023 studies included after removal of duplicates. Two reviewers then independently screened the available titles and key words for relevance, followed by a finer review
utilising abstracts and executive summaries to arrive at 533 records. Beyond the initial screening, inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to each document in its entirety, including removal of opinion pieces and industry documents that did not meet quality criteria and
studies not directly relevant to the definition or measurement of the value of financial advice
delivered by financial advisers to personal (as opposed to commercial) clients. Ambiguities or
disagreements regarding the application of Appendix Table A1 criteria were resolved through
discussions amongst the research team, culminating in a final sample of 286 records.
2.4 | Database construction and reporting
An Excel database was constructed to record various metrics about each study, including metadata, research design, sample, and methods, factors relating to the value of financial advice,
and findings. The initial database structure evolved as both the metadata and content analysis
of the studies were coded. Visualisation of the data was used to capture the overlapping and
separate nature of themes by geographic location, time, methodology, journal and discipline.
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Identification
| Records identified through
database searching
(n = 1,716)
Additional records identified
through other sources
(n = 341)
Screening
Records excluded
(n = 490)
Full-text articles
assessed for eligibility
(n = 533)
Full-text articles
excluded, with reasons
(n = 247)
Included
Records screened
(n = 1,023)
Eligibility
Records after duplicates removed
(n = 1,023)
Studies included in qualitative synthesis
(PAL n = 170, AL n = 83, GGL n = 12,
NGGL n = 21, All n = 286)
F I G U R E 2 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-­A nalyses (PRISMA) flow diagram.
Adapted from: Moher et al. (2009).
3
|
R E SU LT S
3.1 | Nature of the body of literature
Our sample of literature is diverse, containing studies from a range of stakeholders in various forms, including peer-­reviewed journal articles (n = 170), theses/dissertations (n = 19), book
chapters (n = 3), working papers (n = 61), government reports (n = 12) and industry outputs
(n = 21). However, given the topic's broad scope, which covers multiple disciplines and a wide
range of literature, the volume of literature found overall is relatively modest.
To identify trends within the peer-­reviewed and high-­quality grey literature (RQ1), Table 1
further classifies the sample into peer-­reviewed academic literature (PAL) (n = 170) and grey literature, categorised as academic literature (AL)2 (n = 83), government grey literature (GGL)
(n = 12) and non-­government grey literature (NGGL)3 (n = 21). We hypothesised the topics of in2
AL is all academic literature other than peer-­reviewed journal articles, including book chapters, theses/ dissertations and
working papers.
3
NGGL represents industry outputs by individual and organisational authors such as professional associations, investment
houses, consulting firms and more.
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TA BL E 1
| 7
Metadata and methodological summary statistics.
PAL
AL
GGL
NGGL
Total
(n = 170)
(n = 83)
(n = 12)
(n = 21)
(N = 286)
North America
86
37
1
10
134
Europe
50
42
3
4
99
Australia and New Zealand
17
3
8
7
35
Continent
a
Asia
21
3
0
0
24
Africa
3
2
0
0
5
Global
2
2
0
0
4
South America
2
0
0
0
2
Year of publication
Pre-­2000
5
1
0
0
6
2000–­2004
9
3
1
0
13
34
2005–­2009
20
11
3
0
2010–­2014
30
28
3
7
68
2015–­2019
72
31
5
5
113
2020+
34
8
0
9
51
No date
0
1
0
0
1
Cross-­s ectional
109
45
9
13
176
Longitudinal
46
36
4
8
94
Repeated cross-­s ectional
18
10
0
0
28
Quantitative
164
73
11
20
268
Surveys
110
47
9
17
183
Financial records
43
29
9
4
85
Market data
11
4
0
0
15
Research design
a
Research method
a
21
13
0
2
36
Qualitative
Experimental
10
14
10
6
40
Interviews
6
13
4
5
28
Records of advice
interactions
2
2
3
0
7
Focus groups
2
1
1
1
5
Mixed methods
25
21
9
7
62
Primary
78
38
4
16
136
Secondary
82
36
1
4
123
Both primary and secondary
10
9
7
1
27
Data type
Analysis type
a
Advised vs. non-­advised
90
43
2
14
149
Value to different client types
52
25
1
7
85
(Continues)
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| TA BL E 1
(Continued)
PAL
AL
GGL
NGGL
Total
(n = 170)
(n = 83)
(n = 12)
(n = 21)
(N = 286)
Before vs. after advice
35
20
4
12
71
Adviser characteristics
50
34
5
5
94
Evaluating the quality of
advice
11
6
8
3
28
Cost/benefit analysis
1
1
2
3
7
Note: This table provides the metadata and methodological summary statistics by literature type (peer-­reviewed academic
literature (PAL), academic literature (AL), government grey literature (GGL), non-­government grey literature (NGGL)) and the
total sample. AL includes working papers (n = 61), theses/dissertations (n = 19) and book chapters (n = 3).
a
Denotes that papers may be coded into more than one category, e.g., studies spanning more than one continent are counted in
each relevant continent and studies that utilised more than one research design, research method or type of analysis are coded in
all relevant categories.
terest and trends observed would vary by type of literature due to the different focus of the various stakeholders. For example, the target audience for PAL and AL tends to be other academics
and to some extent government and industry depending on the accessibility and degree of application of the academic output. GGL and NGGL are more focused on financial services and
other professionals and consumers. The factors presented in Table 1, together with a thematic
analysis and exploration of the measures and moderating factors of value, are discussed below.
3.2 | Studies by geographic location
The sample of articles illustrated in Figure 3 spans 44 countries, with the top six countries
(USA, UK, Australia, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands) representing 82% of the sample.
The remaining 38 globally spread countries each represent <1%–­3% of the sample. North
American articles feature most prominently, particularly evident in PAL (n = 79) and AL
(n = 33) which likely reflects the larger academic faculty and number of doctoral candidates in
the USA, followed by 17 European countries.
Government grey literature and NGGL are underrepresented with just 23 articles across
both literature types (GGL: n = 12, NGGL: n = 21). Australian studies represent nearly half of
this literature (GGL: n = 8, NGGL: n = 6), with USA, Canada and the UK also appearing.
While on the face of it, 23 articles for GGL and NGGL seems small, this still constitutes a
larger share of the sample than many countries.4 The high representation of Australian studies
in the search outcomes can be explained by the focus of Australian GGL on legislation and
regulatory change. This was driven by several key events and government enquiries focused on
consumers that led to arguably the most extensive period of formal regulation concerning financial advisers worldwide as detailed in subsection 3.3.
3.3 | Studies by year
Figure 4 summarises two time-­related factors: the year studies were disseminated and the
year(s) data was collected. The oldest study in the sample was disseminated in 1993, however,
4
We also note that the nominal number of these articles is higher given many were excluded from this study due to quality
concerns.
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8
100
80
80
60
60
40
40
20
20
0
0
FIGURE 3
AL
UK
Germany
PAL
GGL
NGGL
Rest of the world
100
USA
120
Netherlands
120
Canada
Count
Australia
Count
| 9
Studies by country and literature type.
the period over which the value of advice has been analysed extends back to 1985. The lag
between data collection and dissemination is noteworthy. In particular, higher counts of data
collection are evident between 2003 and 2010, coinciding with the lead-­up to and aftermath of
the GFC. In contrast, the volume of studies disseminated around this time was still low, increasing steadily from 2000 and levelling off around 2011 (average studies p.a. 1993–­2020 = 7.5;
2009–­2020 = 20) indicating that this data was used for many years after the GFC.
Since 2015 there has been a steady increase in studies disseminated on the value of financial
advice, specifically in PAL and more recently, NGGL. In the Australian context this increase
in publications is encouraging given it aligns with the time major regulatory reforms commenced. Indeed, three GGL studies and one AL study have been published in Australia since
2018 which focus specifically on regulation and compliance, including consumer perceptions
of financial advice post reforms (ASIC, 2019) and a framework for analysing compliance reviews of financial advice documents (Chen et al., 2019). However, the use of outdated data by
many recently published studies, particularly immediately before and during the COVID-­19
pandemic, is concerning in terms of responding to the crisis in a timely manner. Thus, while
the direction of the trend looks promising, the need for more current data, especially in uncertain times, is paramount.
Peaks and troughs in the sample align with events or periods of significance. While GGL
and NGGL have remained at low levels as a proportion of the sample over time, the timing of
the government and industry response relative to the academic response is relatively fast. For
example, with the GGL dominated by Australian government reports, those released between
2009, 2012 and 2014 align with a major financial scandal and a financial systems inquiry, the
introduction of Future of Financial Advice reforms and responses to the GFC. PAL and AL lag
these dates due to the nature of the publication and dissertation/thesis processes. Additionally,
there is no deep longitudinal data, potentially explaining the lack of successive publication of
studies with additional data or in different contexts over decades.
Extrapolating the data in Figure 4 means there has been a recent upswing in publications,
however, the decay in data collection from 2016 provides a call to action to reinvigorate this area
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| FIGURE 4
Trends by year of data collection, dissemination and literature type.
of research to build the academic discipline. In a world still heavily impacted by COVID-­19,
now is the time to double down on the focus on financial advice and wellbeing. The negative impact of the pandemic on available resources means a cooperative process, including all
stakeholders, is needed to produce PAL and AL in a timely manner. Cooperation on consumer
data access would enhance opportunities to demonstrate value to consumers and support their
understanding about the financial advice profession to promote advice-­seeking and achieve
better outcomes for society. This would also avoid the over-­concentration of research interest
as seen around the GFC period.
3.4 | Studies by methodology
The sampled literature includes 123 articles which use data from secondary sources, including from large national surveys such as the USA's Survey of Consumer Finances and the
National Financial Capability Study.5 The academic literature (PAL and AL) tended to use
a greater proportion of secondary data, while GGL and NGGL used primary data to a
greater degree. This suggests a more systematic approach to large scale and regularly updated data sources specific to the field of study could be an important step forward for research in this field.
Regarding research design, most studies (n = 176) collect cross-­sectional data while 94 use
a longitudinal approach. Thus, although some studies examine the extent to which a client's
situation has changed since receiving advice, few track clients' financial wellbeing over time.
5
Note, financial records were also coded as a secondary data source.
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In addition, most articles employing longitudinal data (n = 60 out of 94) are more than 5 years
old or originate from Europe (n = 43) or North America (n = 44).
In terms of research method, quantitative approaches are employed the most (n = 268) with
surveys and analysis of financial records most common. Qualitative and mixed method approaches are used to a much lesser extent (n = 40 and 62, respectively) with higher proportions
evident in GGL and NGGL. This is somewhat surprising given the multi-­faceted nature of
value represented in Figure 1.
Value is most commonly analysed in the context of a comparison between advised and
non-­advised consumers (n = 149). This is particularly the case for PAL and NGGL. Comparing
advised with non-­advised raises the issue of self-­selection bias, with stronger quality studies
using methods to account for bias, such as matched-­pair samples. Notably, the German literature primarily utilised bank data sets and multi-­factor regression models, often addressing
self-­selection bias and reverse causation which, interestingly, produced a greater share of the
negative results of financial advice on value (e.g., Hackethal et al., 2012). Evaluating the quality
of advice occurs with greater frequency in the GGL, which is expected given the regulatory
focus on consumer outcomes.
Overall, a range of methods and approaches are adopted, with quantitative methods
being the most common. While this may be driven by topic selection, it may also reflect the
difficulty in systematically accessing data for research in this area. These considerations
are important in the context of expanding our understanding of the value of advice. As
Zick and Mayer (2013) demonstrate, the choice of methodology changes the strength of
the impact of advice on clients. Weaker analyses tend to overstate the benefits of financial
advice. Thus, opportunities exist for researchers across the range of approaches to conduct
research in this area. Further analysis on methodological approaches follows in the context
of journal rankings.
3.5 | Studies by discipline and journal
Appendix Table A2 depicts the PAL published in 85 journals across 23 fields of research.6
While the Accounting, Finance and Economics disciplines logically dominated the sampled
literature, a variety of contrasting fields also became apparent. For instance, saving and preparedness for emergencies feature in Policy and Administration, Social Work and Sociology,
while borrowing also appears in Urban and Regional Planning, Psychology and Law. In contrast, wellbeing measures primarily feature in Social Work, Sociology, Banking, Finance and
Investment, and Public Health and Health Services. Quality of advice and satisfaction measures appear frequently in Economics, Banking, Finance and Investment, and Marketing, but
also in Law and Psychology. Studies on income and welfare focus on Clinical Services and
Public Health and Health Services.
Table 2 demonstrates that journals with the highest publication counts are primarily
Finance journals. Notably, three Finance journals are unranked or lower ranked, but this
does not reflect a lack of impact or contribution to the profession. For example, Journal of
Financial Planning is the research outlet of the USA Financial Planning Association (FPA)
with a wide reach to Certified Financial Planner (CFP) practitioners. Similarly, Journal
of Financial Counselling and Planning is the research outlet for the USA Association for
Financial Counselling and Planning Education which spans a 30+-­year history. Further,
6
Field of Research (FoR) codes are a method used in Australia and NZ to classify the collection, analysis and dissemination of
research and development. The hierarchical classification system uses two-­d igit codes for broad divisions of research (ABS, 2020).
Four-­d igit group codes are used here to identify the FoR relating to each study in the sample. Although some studies relate to
more than one FoR, only the primary code was entered in Appendix Table A2.
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| TA BL E 2
Top seven journals by citation and rank.
SJR
Quartile
rank
h-­I ndex
Cites/Doc
JIF
2019
C
0.357
Q2
41
1.934
–­
10
A
0.788
Q2
81
4.064
4.412
Financial Services
Review
8
B
–­
–­
–­
Journal of Banking
& Finance
8
A*
1.58
3.154
3.07
Journal of Financial
Planning
6
–­
–­
–­
–­
The Review of
Financial
Studies
5
A*
12.8
Q1
190
6.227
5.814
Journal of Family
and Economic
Issues
5
B
0.711
Q2
46
2.77
–­
Journal
Count
Journal of Financial
Counselling and
Planning
13
International
Journal of Bank
Marketing
2019 ABDC
rating
–­
Q1
–­
–­
161
–­
Note: This table summarises journal ranking criteria for the top 7 journals by count of papers published on the value of financial
advice. The ABDC (2019) ranks scholarly peer-­reviewed journals A*, A, B and C based on globally recognised citation metrics and
ranking, validated by an expert panel, for relevant fields of research (FoRs) to Australian business schools. Quartile rank is the
ranking of journals into quartiles in each subject category by SCImago Journal and Country Rank (SJR) where Q1 is occupied by
the top 25% of journals. Where a journal has more than one subject category ranked, the best quartile is reported. The h-­i ndex is
the point at which an article's number in the ranking matches the number of citations that it has received. Cites/Doc is an impact
index based on the average number of citations per document in a 2-­year period. JIF, the journal impact factor, is the average
number of citations received in a particular year by papers published in the journal during the 2 preceding years.
all five Finance publications placed highly in both Personal Finance (Grable & Ruiz-­
Menjivar, 2014) and Finance journal rankings (Bajo et al., 2020), indicating the importance
of these outlets to the academic discipline and profession, despite little movement in ranking over time.
Table 3 lists the A and A* Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) ranked journals
in the sample in which 66 PAL articles are published. The studies originate from 19 countries (and two global contributions) out of 44 in the sample, while the 12 journals are located
in three countries (USA, UK, the Netherlands). Of these journals, 10 are associated with
Economics and Econometrics and seven with Finance. It is not surprising to see The Journal
of Consumer Affairs with a count of two, given the journal has previously been argued to be
‘more prestigious and valuable’ to Personal Finance than other journals devoted to Financial
Planning, Counselling and Therapy, despite infrequent publication of this content (Grable &
Ruiz-­Menjivar, 2014, p. 2).
A priori, academic disciplines have a critical role to play in maintaining the currency of the
body of knowledge that underpins a profession. However, the changing academic community
over the past decades has focused research incentives on journal rankings which disproportionately impacts on emerging fields. Grable et al. (2012) recognised the limited number of
dedicated journals, while Grable and Ruiz-­Menjivar (2014) suggested opportunities for further
dedicated journals due to limited capacity in higher ranked outlets. However, newer journals
such as the USA CFP Board's Financial Planning Review or the Australian FPA's Financial
Planning Research Journal are still under 5 years old and yet to achieve a competitive ranking required for many authors to publish in them. Furthermore, regional biases in citation
1467629x, 0, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acfi.13099, Wiley Online Library on [29/06/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
12
TA BL E 3
| 13
ABDC A* and A ranked journals by origin of study and journal.
Country of journal
origin
Discipline and quartile rank
Australia, Canada,
China,
Luxembourg,
Malaysia, Sweden,
Taiwan, USA
UK
Marketing Q2
8
Finland, Germany,
Global, Israel,
Italy, Japan, the
Netherlands, New
Zealand, UK
the Netherlands
Economics and Econometrics
Q1, Finance Q1
The Review of
Financial
Studies
5
Germany, India,
Sweden,
Switzerland, USA
UK
Accounting Q1, Economics
and Econometrics Q1,
Finance Q1
Journal of
Behavioural
and
Experimental
Finance
4
India, Switzerland,
USA
the Netherlands
Finance Q2
The Journal of
Finance
4
Canada, the
Netherlands, USA
UK
Accounting Q1, Economics
and Econometrics Q1,
Finance Q1
Applied
Economics
2
Australia, Global, the
Netherlands, New
Zealand
UK
Economics and Econometrics
Q2
Journal of
Consumer
Affairs
2
USA
USA
Economics, Econometrics
and Finance Q1,
Sociology and Political
Science Q1
Journal of
Economic
Behaviour
and
Organisation
2
UK, USA
the Netherlands
Economics and Econometrics
Q1, Organisational
Behaviour and Human
Resource Management Q1
Journal of
Economic
Psychology
2
Portugal, USA
the Netherlands
Applied Psychology
Q1, Economics and
Econometrics Q1,
Sociology and Political
Science Q1
Journal of
Real Estate
Finance and
Economics
2
the Netherlands, USA
the Netherlands
Accounting Q2, Economics
and Econometrics Q2,
Finance Q2, Urban
Studies Q1
Review of
Finance
2
Switzerland
UK
Accounting Q1, Economics
and Econometrics Q1,
Finance Q1
The European
Journal of
Finance
2
Germany, Italy
UK
Economics, Econometrics
and Finance
(miscellaneous) Q1
Journal
Count
Country of study origin
International
Journal
of Bank
Marketing
10
Journal of
Banking &
Finance
Note: This table lists all journals present in the sample that are ranked A* and A by the ABDC (2019) and have a minimum count
of 2. Journals are ordered by the frequency with which papers in the sample are published in that outlet. Quartile rank is the
ranking of journals into quartiles in each subject category by SCImago Journal and Country Rank (SJR) where Q1 is occupied by
the top 25% of journals.
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| TA BL E 4
Methodological approach by ADBC journal ranking.
ADBC journal ranking
A*
A
B
C
NR
Total
Cross-­s ectional
8
29
27
18
27
109
Longitudinal
10
9
9
4
14
46
Repeated cross-­s ectional
8
3
2
2
3
18
Data structure
Research method
Quantitative
26
39
35
21
43
164
Surveys
10
27
26
15
32
110
Financial records
16
9
7
3
8
43
Market data
4
2
2
1
2
11
Experiment
Qualitative
3
4
3
3
3
16
0
1
4
2
3
10
Interviews
0
1
2
1
2
6
Records of advice interactions
0
1
0
1
0
2
Focus groups
0
0
1
1
0
2
Multiple methods
7
4
7
3
4
25
Primary
8
21
21
11
27
88
Secondary
20
21
19
13
19
92
Both primary and secondary
2
2
3
1
2
10
Advised vs. non-­advised
17
22
18
13
20
90
Value to different client types
12
16
9
8
7
52
Adviser characteristics
8
17
11
5
9
50
Data type
Analysis type
Before vs. after advice
3
1
10
3
18
35
Evaluating the quality of advice
3
2
3
3
0
11
Cost/Benefit analysis
0
1
0
0
0
1
Note: This table sets out the methodological approach by ABDC (2019) journal rankings. The ABDC ranks scholarly peer-­
reviewed journals A*, A, B and C based on globally recognised citation metrics and ranking, validated by an expert panel, for
relevant fields of research (FoRs) to Australian business schools. Unranked journals are listed as not ranked (NR).
rates and research funding for the USA and Europe are acknowledged by other disciplines
(Anderson-­Levitt, 2014). Specific to Personal Finance, Grable and Ruiz-­Menjivar (2014) also
suggest the exclusion of academics outside the USA is due to bias caused by the lack of an
international ranking system of Financial Planning, Counselling and Therapy academic programs. This suggests there are opportunities for international collaborations of which there
are very few on the value of financial advice to date.
Various aspects of methodological approaches by journal ranking are presented in Table 4.
There is a broad spread of approaches across rankings, although quantitative, objective data
features more often in highly ranked journals while qualitative studies tend to feature in lower
and unranked journals. The dominance of the USA in Table 5 is expected, with effective long-­
term collaborations amongst established authors and with their doctoral candidates. For example, Winchester was supervised by Huston and emerges on the tail end of Cummings and
Heck's (2015) rankings. A series of co-­authorships in Germany and Canada (e.g., Hackethal,
1467629x, 0, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acfi.13099, Wiley Online Library on [29/06/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
14
Unavailable
3747
2110
1756
8
7
5
5
ASIC (Australia)
Muhammad Zubair Tauni
(France)
Jinhee Kim (US)
Swarn Chatterjee (US)
4
4
Stephen P Utkus (US)
Unavailable
Unavailable
Unavailable
Unavailable
178
613
1736
3592
6000
9177
6
14
19
23
38
45
9
15
24
29
32
h-­I ndex
3
22
24
30
80
104
9
17
47
49
53
i10-­I ndex
115
545
952
2566
2328
5122
727
1479
1511
2152
1844
Citations
Since 2016
5
14
14
22
25
38
9
13
20
23
21
h-­I ndex
3
21
20
27
52
91
9
14
40
34
33
i10-­I ndex
21
–­
–­
–­
7
97
1
2
–­
–­
13
33
–­
Rank
1985–­2 014
–­
2
75
16
–­
–­
4
1
–­
–­
6
25
–­
Rank 2005–­2 014
Cummings and Heck (2015)
| 15
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Note: This table reports the top 19 authors and their origin, listed by highest to lowest count of studies included in the sample. Citations and author rankings are provided by Google Scholar for all
time and since 2016. Total citations for each author are provided along with impact measures. The h-­i ndex is the point at which an article's number in the ranking matches the number of citations
that it has received. The i10-­i ndex is the number of publications with at least 10 citations. Cummings and Heck (2015) rankings are of the most prolific authors in Financial Planning from 1985–­2014
and 2005–­2014.
4
4
David M Blanchett (US)
Core Data (US)
4
Danielle D Winchester (US)
Hong Xing Fang (China)
Unavailable
4
Kyoung T Kim (US)
4
4
Rui Yao (US)
4
4
Juhani T Linnainmaa (Canada)
Sandra J Huston (US)
4
Sherman D Hanna (US)
Lawrence Verzani (US)
Unavailable
4
John E Grable (US)
1010
5
5
Steffen Meyer (Denmark)
Alessandro Previtero (Canada)
Unavailable
4352
12
Andreas Hackethal (Germany)
Citations
All time
Count
Top authors by citation and rank.
Author and origin
TA BL E 5
| Meyer & Previtero) also explains the authors listed. Cummings and Heck (2015) rank the top
authors in Financial Planning across five dedicated journals from 1985–­2014 and 2005–­2014.
Applying their rankings to our findings, value of financial advice research is supported by
some top-­ranked authors dedicated to the field and who have generally increased their high
rank over time, particularly Grable, Blanchett and Chatterjee.
3.6 | Studies by research theme
Thematic analysis was undertaken on the 286 articles to gain an understanding of how value
is measured in the context of personal professional financial advice (RQ2). Four key themes
with multiple sub-­themes emerged. Table 6 highlights that the body of literature has (logically)
been more focused on tangible financial outcomes (n = 228) such as investment strategy, performance, and debt, as opposed to quality (n = 80), intangible financial (n = 70) and personal
wellbeing related outcomes (n = 47).
Examination of the research themes by geography reveal several noteworthy patterns in
the data. USA articles, particularly PAL, are more focused on tangible financial outcomes,
suggesting a less than holistic approach from this body of work. Additionally, a sizeable proportion of the grey literature from the USA and UK examined tangible financial and wellbeing
outcomes relating to debt management, including the efficacy of programs and outreach. Only
nine of the 44 countries sampled included non-­f inancial value characteristics in their top three
themes. Common non-­f inancial themes across these countries were appropriateness/quality/
availability of advice, confidence or satisfaction in one's financial situation, and mental wellbeing. As illustrated by Appendix Table A3, these intangible non-­f inancial value themes were
examined most extensively in Australia.
Themes appear periodically over time with peak activity for investment research pre-­GFC
(2005–­2006) and quality of advice research during the GFC (2008–­2011). In contrast, as reflected
in Appendix Table A4, wellbeing research, although smaller in volume, is more evenly distributed
across the past 15 years (2005–­2020). These patterns suggest several studies with applications of
Finance to other disciplines and vice versa, rather than many truly interdisciplinary studies. This
is supported by most articles (n = 190) being thematically coded into only one of the four broad
themes, with the majority of these (n = 142) coded into tangible financial outcomes. In addition,
because investment performance and strategy themes represent a high proportion of the sample,
Table 7 shows that these themes are most often featured in highly ranked journals.
Although content analysis of PAL reveals a continued concentration on investment research
in the USA, many recent PAL studies (27 of 56 since 2019) also examined the intangible aspects
of financial advice. For instance, West and Ramcharan (2019) found that financial counselling
can improve the financial literacy, wellbeing and quality of life of older adults. Such studies
also tend to use more recent data which, when compared to studies examining tangible financial outcomes using dated data, illustrates a positive emerging trend in the value of financial
advice research.
While tangible financial outcomes are understandably important in determining the value of
financial advice, alternate approaches used in grey literature edge scholarship towards a more
holistic view of value. Professional financial advice has been reported to deliver confidence,
control and peace of mind in both quantitative and qualitative studies, with Himawan (2020,
p. 6) asserting that ‘given their immediacy, the non-­f inancial benefits of advice could be more
important for wellbeing and mental health than any financial benefits’. Further, Paglario
and Utkus (2019) estimate the relative importance of emotional (sense of trust, personal connection) versus functional (portfolio management, financial planning) wellbeing outcomes.
Emotional components accounted for almost half (45%) of the total perceived value of the advice relationship. Table 6 reveals that appropriateness/quality of advice appears more in GGL
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16
TA BL E 6
| 17
Research themes by literature type.
Count (n)
All
PAL
AL
GGL
NGGL
Investment strategy
66
31
29
0
6
Tangible financial wellbeing
Risk
30
15
14
0
1
Investment performance
52
34
18
0
0
Wealth
14
4
6
0
4
Savings
32
18
10
1
3
Prepared for emergencies
14
10
2
1
1
Debt
45
20
21
3
1
Income/employment or welfare
benefits
21
13
6
2
0
Retirement
26
14
7
0
5
Insurance
13
9
2
0
2
Fees/costs
18
5
10
0
3
Trading activity
22
14
8
0
0
Tax efficiency
4
1
2
0
1
Goal achievement
9
2
2
0
5
Having a plan
25
16
7
0
2
General behaviour
7
5
2
0
0
Financial literacy
27
15
7
2
3
Financial capability
15
8
3
2
2
Engagement with finances
13
8
2
0
3
Biases
15
9
5
0
1
46
25
11
2
8
Perception of financial situation
17
6
6
1
4
Greater sense of control and
confidence in ability to manage
finances
22
9
5
1
7
Perceived financial literacy
24
11
7
1
5
15
9
3
1
2
Perceived financial wellbeing
Confidence or satisfaction in
financial situation
Other wellbeing
Physical wellbeing
Social wellbeing
14
7
4
1
2
Mental wellbeing
42
17
13
3
9
Work performance
4
1
2
0
1
Appropriateness/quality/
availability
51
23
17
8
3
Satisfaction with advice
39
16
10
3
10
Quality of advice
Note: This table reports the count of studies grouped by four broad themes according to the type of literature (all literature,
peer-­reviewed academic literature (PAL), academic literature (AL), government grey literature (GGL) and non-­government grey
literature (NGGL)). Studies often reported on multiple themes and therefore may be coded multiple times across themes.
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| TA BL E 7
Research themes by Australian and international journal rankings.
ABDC Australian rankings
SCImago
JCR
A*
A
B
C
NR
SJR
h-­I ndex
Cites/Doc
JIF 2019
9
6
8
3
4
3.586
93
2.91
3.633
Tangible financial wellbeing
Investment strategy
Risk
5
1
7
0
2
3.247
92
2.91
3.946
Investment
performance
14
4
6
5
4
5.490
114
3.56
4.933
Wealth
0
1
0
2
1
0.444
35
1.71
1.750
Savings
1
3
3
5
6
0.648
47
2.24
2.788
Prepared for
emergencies
1
1
2
2
4
0.820
55
1.88
3.011
Debt
2
6
3
3
6
0.754
56
1.88
2.107
Income/employment or
welfare benefits
0
1
0
1
11
1.170
110
2.57
3.428
Retirement
0
2
4
4
4
0.509
27
1.41
1.104
Insurance
0
2
2
1
4
0.622
48
1.53
2.175
Fees/Costs
2
0
1
1
1
7.916
110
3.02
5.266
Trading activity
5
3
4
0
2
3.967
106
2.88
3.470
Tax efficiency
1
0
0
0
0
4.933
61
3.77
3.894
Goal achievement
0
0
1
0
1
–­
–­
–­
–­
Having a plan
1
1
5
3
6
0.685
47
1.53
2.690
General behaviour
0
0
2
2
1
0.534
35
1.88
–­
Financial literacy
3
2
5
1
4
0.703
51
1.54
2.086
Financial capability
0
0
4
1
3
0.771
52
1.69
3.702
Engagement with
finances
1
1
3
1
2
1.958
52
1.95
3.973
Biases
4
2
1
0
1
5.733
1.24
3.96
4.612
Confidence or
satisfaction in
financial situation
3
1
6
7
8
0.868
57
1.95
3.076
Perception of financial
situation
0
1
1
1
2
0.962
89
2.36
6.866
Greater sense of
control/confidence
in ability to manage
finances
0
1
2
3
3
0.453
36
1.73
3.266
Perceived financial
literacy
1
0
2
4
4
0.541
31
1.57
2.829
Perceived financial wellbeing
Other wellbeing
Physical wellbeing
1
0
1
1
6
0.721
56
2.04
2.563
Social wellbeing
0
0
1
0
6
0.592
34
1.50
2.391
Mental wellbeing
0
2
3
2
10
0.736
57
2.12
3.460
Work performance
0
0
1
0
0
0.140
4
0.00
–­
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18
TA BL E 7
| 19
(Continued)
ABDC Australian rankings
SCImago
JCR
A*
A
B
C
NR
SJR
h-­I ndex
Cites/Doc
JIF 2019
Appropriateness/
Quality/Availability
5
8
7
2
2
3.289
86
2.74
4.134
Satisfaction with
advice
2
9
3
0
2
1.396
84
3.39
4.416
Quality of advice
Note: This table reports ABDC (2019) journal rankings and the average SJR, h-­i ndex, Cites/Doc and JIF across all journals in
each research theme. The ABDC ranks scholarly peer-­reviewed journals A*, A, B and C based on globally recognised citation
metrics and ranking, validated by an expert panel, for relevant fields of research (FoRs) to Australian business schools. Unranked
journals are listed as not ranked (NR). SCImago Journal and Country Rank (SJR), a measure of a journal's impact, influence or
prestige, is calculated as the average number of weighted citations received in the selected year (2019) by the documents published
in the journal in the 3 previous years. The h-­i ndex is the point at which an article's number in the ranking matches the number of
citations that it has received. Journal Citations Report (JCR) 2019 journal impact factor (JIF) is the average number of citations
received in a particular year by papers published in the journal during the 2 preceding years.
than NGGL, and confidence, satisfaction with advice and mental wellbeing features more in
NGGL than GGL. It is encouraging to see alternate approaches in the quality and wellbeing
spheres are becoming increasingly evident in recent research.
3.7 | Measurement of value
As this SQLR attests, value has often been interpreted as the financial benefits of advice; indeed, 80% of the sampled literature has been thematically analysed as such. However, just 16%
of studies consider the financial value of advice in the long term through a critical analysis of
client financial records. Additionally, few studies include matched-­pair samples or account for
potential selection bias from those who seek advice, which calls into question the robustness
of these results. The literature also reports on moderating variables relating to value including
adviser factors, client factors, and environmental factors, discussed in the following subsections. While alternate approaches to the examination of value are being explored by researchers, it is clear there is not yet a common, holistic or agreed upon definition of value in the
context of financial advice, nor a unifying conceptual framework or theory to bring the literature together. This represents both a weakness and a significant opportunity for researchers.
3.7.1 | Adviser factors
One-­third of studies (n = 94) considered the impact of adviser factors on the value that clients receive
from professional financial advice, including demographic and professional characteristics and
the client-­professional relationship. Demographic characteristics considered age, gender and personality, for example, how an adviser's risk profile influenced the client's portfolio outcomes, and
produced mixed results. The majority of studies report a positive impact on the client, with value
to the client increasing through proactive and highly involved advisers, face-­to-­face advice delivery
and longer relationships increasing asset value (e.g., Montmarquette & Viennot-­Briot, 2015).
Professional characteristics, considered by a small number of studies, included the type of
advice, experience, skills, qualifications, firm size, relationships and conflicts of interest. Type
of advice included debt counselling, insurance advice and savings advice with the broad focus
of these studies being investment strategy and performance, while firm size revealed that advisers with more clients deliver worse performance (Foerster et al., 2014). Adviser experience did
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| not affect the quality of advice, but resulted in more conservative investment recommendations
(Jansen et al., 2008). Skills refers to higher adviser financial literacy and performance, while
qualifications revealed clients, particularly male clients, value advisers with greater expertise
(Sheils et al., 2016). In contrast to experience and conservatism, education was shown to increase
adviser overconfidence (Bluethgen et al., 2008), yet provided better risk-­adjusted returns for clients. Conflicts of interest was the largest theme relating to advisers, although the literature focused on narrative more so than empirical testing, concluding that being a generally independent
adviser added value, while conflicts of interest negatively impacted value (Hoechle et al., 2018).
3.7.2 | Client factors
Client factors examined in the studies include demographic, financial and advice characteristics, and financial behaviours. Demographic characteristics considered age, gender, race,
culture, employment/retirement status and family structure/relationship status. Financial
characteristics include income, wealth, debt and credit scores, investment horizon, risk, financial literacy (subjective and objective), financial inclusion/exclusion and products held (e.g.,
specific retirement accounts, stocks, mortgages). Financial behaviours include client engagement/level of effort, trading frequency and confidence, while advice characteristics includes
whether the client received comprehensive or limited scope financial advice.
While not always linked to discussion on financial health or wellbeing, most studies assessed the impact of advice on clients' financial situations, with the majority using financial records as evidence. In terms of the most common financial wellbeing factors against which the
value of advice has been assessed, most studies focused on clients' investment strategies (n = 66)
or returns (n = 52). Other aspects investigated included the impact that financial advice has on
helping clients manage debt, prepare for contingencies and plan for the future, and how advice
influences clients' trading frequency and portfolio risk (e.g., Marsden et al., 2011). Studies also
assessed the impact of advice on clients' mental, physical and social wellbeing.
3.7.3 | Environmental factors
Environmental factors include financial markets, regulation, professional standards, and administration. Environmental factors interact to influence the value of advice through quality of advice and client outcomes, for example, the impact of new products in financial markets and the
state of the markets. Regulation impacts the administrative burden, time and the cost of advice.
Administrative burden and improving efficiency through the use of financial technology are discussed primarily in GGL and NGGL, together with government and the profession's concerns
about accessibility of advice and value for money (e.g., Fidelity International, 2020). Regulation
has also impacted remuneration structures for advisers/advice businesses with PAL and AL examining incentives for misaligned advice (e.g., Šindelár & Budinský, 2019). Remuneration is also
linked to quality, accessibility and value for money advice in GGL and NGGL (e.g., ASIC, 2014).
Professional education/training requirements and ethical standards impact positively by increasing capability to deliver quality advice that adds value for clients, captured most strongly in GGL.
3.7.4 | Towards a conceptual model
There are few authors who consider the adviser/supply side of advice and none of the three
adviser categories reported here have been thoroughly investigated. The dichotomous focus
on adding or destroying value has not yet provided sufficient evidence for policy and agenda
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20
FIGURE 5
| 21
Further conceptualising the value of financial advice.
shifts such as Australia's move to degree-­qualified advisers. Thus, there is significant potential to evaluate practice and inform policy-­makers, and other stakeholders, around the globe.
While client factors have received more attention than adviser factors, there have been few
links made to comprehensively consider client and adviser factors and their interaction in
terms of value for clients. For example, clients that are satisfied with advice may not be aware
they received poor advice. This category of research offers many more aspects for further
investigation. While PAL and AL focus on measures associated with tangible financial wellbeing, GGL is more concerned with consumer financial literacy and the appropriateness of
advice while NGGL focuses on advice satisfaction, consumer goal achievement and measures
of perceived financial wellbeing. Opportunities exist for PAL and AL to provide a holistic
conceptual framework of value and to empirically test the impact of adviser, consumer and
environmental factors on the value of advice. Figure 5 provides a stimulus for future research.
4
|
CONC LUSION
The COVID-­19 crisis, as the GFC did before it, has highlighted the fragility of household and
personal finances around the globe. Persistent evidence of low levels of savings, low financial
literacy, and the lack of progress in creating a trustworthy financial advice profession should
have sounded the alarm bells earlier. The unique and swift nature of the pandemic crisis has,
however, laid this bare for all to see with governments spending billions of dollars to prop up
economies. With this setting in mind, we ask the question: What is the value of personal professional financial advice to clients?
Unfortunately, financial advice has remained the subject of sustained scrutiny due to persistent advice and product failures, highlighted by the damning 2017–­2019 Royal Commission
into financial services in Australia. This has fed consumers' persistent negative views of financial advisers that do not engender confidence in the general public to seek financial advice
and be willing to pay a professional fee for service without a strong, evidence-­based, counter-­
narrative of the value provided to clients.
Past studies have explored various elements of the value of financial advice, but there has not
yet been a comprehensive and systematic literature review. Importantly, while financial advisers
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| provide a valuable service, several of the benefits are intangible and difficult to measure, such
as peace of mind. Others, such as investment returns, are easy to quantify, but they are not immediately realised or visible in the short term. Thus, we argue a research-­informed approach is
required to shed light on the concerns of stakeholders about the low uptake of personal professional financial advice to inform consumer engagement strategies. This paper seeks to fill this
gap by being the first to undertake an SQLR. By consolidating the state of scholarly and high-­
quality grey literature, this paper advances the literature and the financial advice profession.
Overall, and in response to RQ1, we find a body of literature that is not sufficiently comprehensive or consistently undertaken and built upon over time. The peak of published work appears around the GFC and is largely conducted in two jurisdictions with a clear overall trend of
investment research being most prevalent. There are also clear thematics by region suggesting a
geographic focus and thus an insufficiently broad coverage of the various relevant issues. While
in recent years the overall volume of research has increased, the use of GFC-­era data in several
recently published studies is troubling. In a world of increasing innovation and entrepreneurship, the ability of the literature to inform and support emerging industries and professions is
paramount. As moves to raise standards and professionalise the industry has gathered pace, we
owe it to practitioners and consumers alike to publish current quality research.
Furthermore, we are concerned that there is a disconnect with the way the academy
deals with fields of emerging scholarship such as Personal Finance and Financial Planning/
Advice. At risk is the effort to develop the body of knowledge underpinning the profession
which is demonstrably important to moving society forward. We need to develop a sense
of identity as Personal Finance researchers and contribute more independent research to
inform government policy and practice. Continuing to ride the wave of the established
academic disciplines, their associated authors and journals, does little to advance professional financial advice. Lobbying ABDC and universities to support emerging disciplines
or to expand the metrics they use for measuring outcomes may be part of the solution to
establishing these disciplines as important scholarship in their own right. Collaborative
works with key international authors in the field may also help to gain traction to publish
Australian outcomes in higher ranked journals.
In relation to the measurement of value (RQ2), we find there are four common research
themes being: tangible financial wellbeing, perceived financial wellbeing, other wellbeing
(mental, physical and social), and quality. While fundamentally the sampled literature has
focused on tangible financial aspects, this review reveals a number of alternate approaches for
measuring value. These more obscure, intangible methods add to our holistic understanding of
the value of financial advice to clients, a view which is currently lacking in academic, industry
and government research, and which we believe is critical to developing the emerging personal
financial advice field. Additionally, the literature uses a range of methods, with many adopting
quantitative perspectives in relation to investment strategy and returns. We also note positively
the literature that measures financial wellbeing aspects of financial advice. This points to
scope to investigate the impact on clients' mental, physical and social wellbeing and thus taking a broader perspective on, and methodological approach to, the value of financial advice.
The major reform programs also create various research opportunities for pre-­post analysis
and evaluating new forms of practice that emerge in the advice industry and the differential
value these provide to clients.
Finally, for RQ3, we create a framework of key factors in Figure 5 that support and constrain the value of professional financial advice, including adviser, client and environmental
factors, the type, cost and quality of advice, advice outcomes, and the client-­adviser relationship. We conclude that there is significant need for investment of time, effort and resources
into Personal Finance research that examines the broad value of these services to consumers,
households, the community and economy. Such work has a unique opportunity to inform the
ongoing development of a new profession.
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22
| 23
AC K NO​W L E​D GE​M E N T S
The authors wish to acknowledge and thank AMP Financial Services Ltd for financial and
other support for this project. We are also grateful to Griffith Business School for Griffith
Business School Publication and Grant Completion Scheme funding and Thomas Hendry for
research assistance. Open access publishing facilitated by Griffith University, as part of the
Wiley - Griffith University agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.
DATA AVA I L A B I L I T Y STAT E M E N T
The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the
article and/or its supplementary materials.
DI S C L O S U R E
The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of AMP Financial Services Ltd.
ORC I D
Kirsten L. MacDonald https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5701-4591
Ellana Loy https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8065-1601
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The value of personal professional financial advice to clients: A systematic quantitative
literature review. Accounting & Finance, 00, 1–31. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/
acfi.13099
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A PPE N DI X 1
TA BL E A 1
Stage of the SQLR with application of inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Stages
Short description of stages
Stage 1
Research design and planning: Defining the topic and scope of the research and formulating the research
questions
Stage 2
Identifying the search terms, literature type and databases to be searched. Given the broad and multi-­
dimensional scope of the topic, various search term combinations were used.
Search 1 –­Financial Advice
• Value AND Financial AND Advice
• Financial AND (“Advice Seeking” OR Help OR “Professional Help” OR Advisor OR Adviser OR
Advice OR “Help-­Seeking” OR Planning OR Planner OR Expert OR Counselling OR Counsellor OR
Counselor OR Advisory)
• “Financial Advisory” OR “Financial advi*”AND (search terms as above)
Search 2 –­Personal Finance
• Financial AND Advice AND (Capability OR Inclusion OR Self-­efficacy OR “Decision Making” OR
Literacy OR Education OR Knowledge OR Behaviour OR Behavior OR “Money Attitudes”)
• “Financial Advisory” OR “Financial advi*”AND (search terms as above)
Search 3 –­Wellbeing
• Financial AND Advice AND (Difficulty OR Difficulties OR Debt OR Wellbeing OR Well-­b eing
OR Health OR Anxiety OR Depression OR Weight OR “Peace of Mind” OR Risk OR Outcomes OR
Performance OR Value OR Objectives OR Results)
• Financial AND Advice AND (Consumer OR Client OR Customer OR Individual OR Household OR
Retail)
• “Financial Advisory” OR “Financial advi*”AND (search terms as above)
Stage 3
Screening studies for inclusion: Inclusion and exclusion criteria were established. Two reviewers
independently screened the available titles, key words, abstracts and executive summaries for
relevance, followed by a finer review of the full article
Criterion
Rationale
Domain
Research focuses on the definition or measurement of the value of financial advice
delivered by financial industry professionals to retail (i.e., personal not commercial)
clients. Studies focussing on non-­advised clients are only included where they provide
a comparison against advised clients to define or measure value
Design
Qualitative and quantitative studies relating to the definition and measurement of the
value of personal professional financial advice
Date
No parameters were set around the date of data collection or distribution of results as this
comprehensive review intends to reveal the historical development of the literature
leading to the current state of the research problem
Geographic
location
There is no geographic limit. While there will be some jurisdictional differences, in
part due to varying regulations, it is expected that the value of financial advice will be
universal
Language
The SQLR is limited to studies published in English. The potential for bias is
acknowledged
Type of
literature
Peer-­reviewed and grey literature, including academic (dissertation, thesis, book, book
chapter, working paper), industry and government documents, were included to ensure
all contemporary trends and issues were considered. This is particularly relevant
given the emerging nature of the Financial Planning discipline and body of literature
relating to financial advice
Quality of
literature
To ensure only high-­quality non-­published content was considered, grey literature
was screened independently by two researchers using Tyndall's (2010) AACODS
(Authority, Accuracy, Coverage, Objectivity, Date, Significance) checklist, with a
third researcher resolving inconsistencies
Reported
outcomes
Purely subjective pieces (editorials and opinion pieces) were excluded. Where a single
study or database is reported across multiple papers, only the findings from the latest
document were included
(Continues)
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| TA BL E A 1
(Continued)
Stages
Short description of stages
Stage 4
Construction of the database and coding of eligible papers
Stage 5
Analysis of database and reporting of the findings
Note: This table sets out the five stages of the SQLR in this study which map to the 15 steps in Pickering and Byrne's (2014)
SQLR process. Stage 1 includes steps 1 and 2 of the SQLR process to define the topic and formulate the research questions.
Stage 2 includes steps 3 and 4 to identify key words and identify and search databases. Stage 3 includes step 5 to read and assess
publications. Stage 4 includes steps 6 to 9 to structure the database, enter the first 10% of papers, test and revise categories, then
enter the bulk of papers. Stage 5 includes steps 10 to 15 to produce and review summary tables, draft the paper, and review the
document until ready for submission.
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26
08
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Risk
Investment
performance
Wealth
Savings
Prepared for
emergencies
Debt
Income/employment
or welfare
benefits
Retirement
Insurance
Fees/Costs
Trading activity
Tax efficiency
Goal achievement
Having a plan
General behaviour
Financial literacy
Financial capability
Engagement with
finances
Biases
1
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
4
1
4
0
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11
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3
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1103
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6
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1117
0
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1
0
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1205
0
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1
0
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1
1
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14
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0
0
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5
2
2
1401
1
1
0
2
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1
0
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1
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4
3
2
0
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1402
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1
0
0
0
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1
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1
1
1
0
1
2
1
1499
0
0
0
0
1
3
2
4
4
2
0
1
1
0
1
3
3
0
2
1
4
0
5
3
6
1501
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
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0
0
0
15
2
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
4
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
9
3
6
1502
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
2
0
0
1
1
1503
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1504
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
2
1
0
1505
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
16
0
0
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
1
2
1
0
0
0
1605
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1607
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1608
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1701
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
MD
(Continues)
1801
| 27
1467629x, 0, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acfi.13099, Wiley Online Library on [29/06/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
Investment strategy
0102
Research themes by field of research (FoR) code.
Tangible financial wellbeing
Field of research
TA BL E A 2
08
(Continued)
0
0
0
Perception of
financial
situation
Greater sense of
control and
confidence
ability to
manage finances
Perceived financial
literacy
0
0
0
Social wellbeing
Mental wellbeing
Work performance
1
Satisfaction with
advice
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0102
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
11
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1103
1
1
0
4
2
3
0
0
0
0
1117
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1205
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
14
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1401
1
4
0
1
0
0
1
1
0
2
1402
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1499
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
15
2
5
1
3
1
3
4
4
2
6
1501
1
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
2
1502
6
3
0
3
0
0
0
1
1
1
1503
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1504
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1505
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
16
0
0
0
2
2
2
2
1
0
2
1605
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
1
1607
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1608
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1701
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1801
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
MD
| 1467629x, 0, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acfi.13099, Wiley Online Library on [29/06/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
Note: This table provides a count of the number of studies per field of research (FoR) (ABS, 2020) grouped by four broad themes (tangible financial wellbeing, perceived financial wellbeing, other
wellbeing, and quality of advice). Colour shading highlights the frequency of studies within each theme.
0
Appropriateness/
Quality/
Availability
Quality of advice
0
Physical wellbeing
Other wellbeing
1
Confidence or
satisfaction
in financial
situation
Perceived financial wellbeing
Field of research
TA BL E A 2
28
TA BL E A 3
| 29
Research themes by geographic region.
Count (n)
All
Africa
Asia
Australia
and NZ
Europe
North
America
South
America
Investment strategy
66
0
7
4
23
36
1
Risk
30
1
4
2
11
16
1
Investment performance
52
1
5
1
27
23
0
Wealth
14
0
0
1
4
9
0
Savings
32
0
0
2
11
19
0
Prepared for emergencies
14
1
0
2
3
11
1
Debt
45
1
0
4
17
26
1
Income/employment or welfare benefits
21
1
0
2
15
6
1
Retirement
26
1
2
2
4
17
0
Insurance
13
0
1
2
1
9
0
Fees/Costs
18
0
1
0
9
8
0
Trading activity
22
1
7
0
11
3
0
Tax efficiency
4
0
0
0
1
3
0
Goal achievement
9
0
0
1
1
7
0
Having a plan
25
2
0
3
4
19
1
General behaviour
7
0
0
0
1
6
0
Financial literacy
27
0
1
5
11
10
0
Financial capability
15
0
0
6
5
4
0
Engagement with finances
13
0
1
3
2
7
0
Biases
15
0
1
0
9
5
0
Confidence or satisfaction in financial
situation
46
3
1
8
12
25
1
Perception of financial situation
17
0
0
5
7
5
0
Greater sense of control and confidence
in ability to manage finances
22
0
1
9
6
6
0
Perceived financial literacy
24
0
1
10
8
5
0
Physical wellbeing
15
0
1
5
7
4
0
Social wellbeing
14
0
0
5
7
2
0
Mental wellbeing
42
1
1
10
19
11
0
Work performance
4
0
0
2
1
1
0
Appropriateness/Quality/Availability
51
1
2
17
20
14
0
Satisfaction with advice
39
0
4
12
11
13
0
Tangible financial wellbeing
Perceived financial wellbeing
Other wellbeing
Quality of advice
Note: This table reports the count of research themes in the sample grouped by four broad themes (tangible financial wellbeing,
perceived financial wellbeing, other wellbeing, and quality of advice) according to the geographic area in which the literature and
its data originated. Studies often reported on multiple themes and therefore may be coded multiple times across themes. Studies
that incorporated data from multiple geographic regions are also coded to each relevant geographic region.
1467629x, 0, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acfi.13099, Wiley Online Library on [29/06/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
85
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Investment
performance
Wealth
Savings
Prepared for
emergencies
Debt
Income/
employment/
welfare benefits
Retirement
Insurance
Fees/Costs
Trading activity
Tax efficiency
Goal achievement
Having a plan
General behaviour
Financial literacy
Financial capability 0
0
Risk
Engagement with
finances
Biases
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
87
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
88
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
89
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
90
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
91
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
1
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
92
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
1
3
0
0
1
2
0
2
93
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
2
1
0
4
0
0
0
3
0
2
94
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
1
4
0
0
1
3
0
2
95
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
1
1
4
0
0
0
5
1
3
96
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
0
2
5
0
0
0
4
1
2
97
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
1
4
4
0
0
1
5
2
4
98
1
0
0
1
0
2
0
2
3
4
4
1
2
5
0
3
1
9
6
8
99
1
1
0
0
1
1
0
2
4
4
3
2
3
5
1
2
2
11
6
9
00
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
3
3
4
4
1
4
2
1
2
1
11
7
8
01
2
0
1
0
1
1
0
2
4
4
3
2
3
2
1
1
2
13
5
10
02
4
0
1
0
0
1
0
2
8
6
3
2
3
4
0
2
2
18
8
14
03
4
0
0
0
0
2
0
3
8
6
4
6
4
4
1
3
3
20
10
18
04
4
1
1
3
1
2
0
3
10
7
3
2
2
6
0
5
4
24
10
17
05
4
1
1
5
2
2
0
2
7
8
3
4
4
7
0
8
6
20
9
16
06
5
1
1
3
1
2
0
2
7
8
4
4
5
7
3
10
7
19
11
17
07
2
2
0
2
2
6
3
2
4
4
5
7
4
5
1
7
5
17
6
11
08
1
2
1
1
1
4
1
2
4
7
1
3
3
5
1
6
1
1
4
4
5
3
4
2
6
1
9
5
17
8
13
10
4
1
5
3
7
6
20
7
12
09
1
0
1
3
0
4
1
1
4
4
3
6
1
3
0
5
4
16
8
14
11
1
1
2
5
2
4
2
0
3
4
3
4
1
7
1
9
4
13
7
12
12
0
1
1
5
1
5
2
0
3
6
3
5
3
9
3
10
3
15
7
12
13
2
0
1
5
0
2
2
0
2
2
1
3
1
6
2
8
3
9
4
11
14
3
1
2
3
0
2
1
0
2
3
2
2
2
4
2
3
1
9
6
13
15
4
1
4
2
0
0
1
0
2
2
1
1
1
2
0
1
1
7
7
15
16
3
1
0
1
0
0
1
0
2
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
3
4
7
17
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
2
0
1
1
3
1
0
0
3
1
6
18
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
3
19
0
1
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
20
| 1467629x, 0, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acfi.13099, Wiley Online Library on [29/06/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Investment strategy
0
86
Year of data collection
Research themes by year of data collection.
Tangible financial wellbeing
TA BL E A4
30
85
0
0
0
Perception of
financial
situation
Greater sense of
control and
confidence
ability to
manage
finances
Perceived financial
literacy
0
0
0
Social wellbeing
Mental Wellbeing
Work performance
0
Satisfaction with
advice
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
87
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
88
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
89
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
90
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
91
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
92
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
93
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
94
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
95
0
1
0
1
1
2
0
0
0
0
96
1
0
0
0
2
2
2
0
0
0
0
98
1
0
2
2
2
0
0
0
0
97
0
4
1
1
1
3
0
1
0
1
99
1
4
1
1
0
4
0
0
0
2
00
1
4
0
1
0
2
0
0
0
0
01
0
5
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
02
0
7
0
1
0
2
0
0
0
0
03
0
6
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
04
2
9
0
4
0
2
1
1
3
5
05
1
7
0
4
1
2
1
2
2
3
06
1
8
0
4
2
2
1
0
1
3
07
1
10
0
3
0
0
0
2
0
6
08
2
9
0
3
0
0
1
0
1
5
09
4
11
1
4
2
1
3
2
3
6
10
4
11
0
4
1
0
4
1
2
7
11
2
7
0
4
2
1
3
2
2
7
12
1
8
0
4
2
1
3
1
2
6
13
0
8
0
4
0
0
1
0
3
5
14
2
6
0
5
0
0
1
3
3
5
15
1
4
1
5
1
0
2
0
1
5
16
1
6
0
2
0
0
1
0
0
1
17
5
3
0
5
0
0
4
0
0
3
18
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
19
3
0
1
5
3
2
2
4
3
2
20
| 31
1467629x, 0, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acfi.13099, Wiley Online Library on [29/06/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
Note: This table provides a count of the number of studies per year of data collection grouped by four broad themes (tangible financial wellbeing, perceived financial wellbeing, other wellbeing, and
quality of advice). Colour shading highlights the frequency of studies within each theme.
0
Appropriateness/
Quality/
Availability
Quality of advice
0
Physical wellbeing
Other wellbeing
0
Confidence or
satisfaction
in financial
situation
86
Year of data collection
(Continued)
Perceived financial wellbeing
TA BL E A4