Financial Planners Earning High Marks in Trust from Recession-Challenged Clients, First Command Reports

FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Delivering meaningful customer service in tough times is paying off for the nation’s financial planners, with the vast majority of consumers saying they trust their own planner, according to the First Command Financial Behaviors Index®.

“Consumers are looking for a professional, someone who is willing to listen and is committed to providing honest guidance and patient advice. What they want is a personal coach who will help them on their way toward long-term financial security.”

The Index’s January survey reveals that for the second consecutive year, 90 percent of middle-class Americans who work with a financial planner say they trust their planner. Consumers say planners are earning that trust through the personalized care they have been providing during the current financial turmoil.

“Americans who choose to work with a financial planner receive a unique combination of economic and emotional assistance,” said Scott Spiker, CEO of First Command. “The professional advice and service offered by planners generates important fiscal benefits for consumers. Through personalized advice and knowledgeable service, financial planners deliver a sense of security to consumers as they work through our sometimes-challenging economic environment. The high degree of trust revealed in our survey results underscores the profound value that financial planners bring to the lives of their clients.”

Consumers who trust their own personal financial planner attribute that feeling to a variety of factors, including:

Personal relationship (23 percent)
Good service (16 percent)
Honesty (13 percent)
Knowledgeable (9 percent)
Good advice (9 percent)

Although they give their own planners high marks, these consumers do not feel nearly so trustful of financial planners in general or the financial industry. Just 78 percent trust financial planners in general and 27 percent trust the industry. Levels of trust are even lower among Americans without a financial planner. Less than half (46 percent) express feelings of trust toward planners and only 17 percent trust the financial industry.

Roughly three out of 10 survey respondents said they have a financial planner. But more may soon join them. Looking at the year ahead, 16 percent of respondents without a financial planner are likely to work with one in 2011. Americans who are trustful of financial planners are significantly more likely to engage with a planner than those who are mistrustful of planners (27 percent versus 7 percent). Many of these consumers will be turning to friends and family members for help in the decision-making process. That’s no surprise; 43 percent of middle-class Americans who work with a financial planner based their hiring decision on a recommendation.

“Selecting a financial planner is a major decision,” Spiker said. “Consumers are looking for a professional, someone who is willing to listen and is committed to providing honest guidance and patient advice. What they want is a personal coach who will help them on their way toward long-term financial security.”

About the First Command Financial Behaviors Index®

Compiled by Sentient Decision Science, LLC, the First Command Financial Behaviors Index® assesses trends among the American public’s financial behaviors, attitudes and intentions through a monthly survey of approximately 1,000 U.S. consumers aged 25 to 70 with annual household incomes of at least $50,000. Results are reported quarterly. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percent with a 95 percent level of confidence. www.firstcommand.com/research

About Sentient Decision Science, LLC

Sentient Decision Science was commissioned by First Command to compile the Financial Behaviors Index®. Sentient is a full-service market research firm with special vertical expertise within the financial services industry. Sentient specializes in advanced research design and statistical analysis of behavioral and attitudinal data.

About First Command

First Command Financial Services and its subsidiaries, including First Command Bank and First Command Financial Planning, assist American families in their efforts to build wealth, reduce debt and pursue their lifetime financial goals and dreams—focusing on consumer behavior as the first and most powerful determinant of results. Through knowledgeable advice and coaching of the financial behaviors conducive to success, First Command Financial Advisors have built trustworthy, lasting relationships with hundreds of thousands of client families since 1958.

First Command Financial Services, Inc. is the parent company of First Command Financial Planning, Inc. (Member SIPC, FINRA) and First Command Bank (Member FDIC). Financial planning services and investment products, including securities products are offered by First Command Financial Planning, Inc. Insurance products and services are offered by First Command Financial Services, Inc. Banking products and services are offered by First Command Bank. Securities products are not FDIC insured, have no bank guarantee and may lose value. In certain states, First Command Financial Services, Inc. is a separately registered domestic corporation and does business in California as “First Command Insurance Services.” A financial plan, by itself, cannot assure that retirement or other financial goals will be met.