Nearly two-thirds of Americans aren’t interested in getting financial advice—about 65 percent, according to a recent TIAA-CREF survey.
But it's not all bad news. TIAA-CREF’s third annual Advice Matters survey of more than 1,000 adults revealed that while a majority of people may not be looking for advice, the number of people who are looking for it is growing. The number of American investors interested in receiving financial advice grew to 35 percent from the 24 percent surveyed in the 2013 study.
“Those who aren’t interested in advice may not know what it includes or how valuable it can be,” said Eric Jones, senior managing director of advisory solutions at TIAA-CREF. The survey found that only 57 percent of people who say they’re not interested in receiving financial advice are aware that it can include specific recommendations on investing, compared to 82 percent of people who say they are interested in advice.
Trust is still one of the biggest obstacles. Sixty-five percent of people believe it’s difficult to know which sources of advice can be trusted, up 16 percentage points from last year’s survey. About 44 percent of respondents say they think good financial advice will cost more than they can afford.
“Many popular misconceptions about financial advice are just that—misconceptions,” said Jones. “Unfortunately, they can paralyze people’s search for trustworthy advice, leaving many people disengaged with their financial futures. The fact is, there are many reliable, affordable sources for high-quality financial advice—including, for many people, their employer.”