The Financial Life Well-Lived: Psychological Benefits of Financial Planning

Abstract

As the financial planning industry undergoes a series of reforms aimed at increased professionalism and improved quality of advice, financial planner training in Australia and elsewhere has begun to acknowledge the importance of interdisciplinary knowledge bases in informing both curriculum design and professional practice (e.g. FPA 2009). This paper underscores the importance of the process of financial planning by providing a conceptual analysis of the six step financial planning process using key mechanisms derived from theory and research in cognate disciplines, such as psychology and well-being. The paper identifies how these mechanisms may operate to impact client well-being in the financial planning context. The conceptual mapping of the mechanisms to process elements of financial planning is a unique contribution to the financial planning literature and offers a further framework in the armamentarium of researchers interested in pursuing questions around the value of financial planning. The conceptual framework derived from the analysis also adds to the growing body of literature aimed at developing an integrated model of financial planning. KeywordsFinancial Planning, subjective well-being, psychological well-being, life satisfaction Cover Page FootnoteThe author would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments AbstractAs the financial planning industry undergoes a series of reforms aimed at increased professionalism and improved quality of advice, financial planner training in Australia and elsewhere has begun to acknowledge the importance of interdisciplinary knowledge bases in informing both curriculum design and professional practice (e.g. FPA 2009). This paper underscores the importance of the process of financial planning by providing a conceptual analysis of the six step financial planning process using key mechanisms derived from theory and research in cognate disciplines, such as psychology and well-being. The paper identifies how these mechanisms may operate to impact client well-being in the financial planning context. The conceptual mapping of the mechanisms to process elements of financial planning is a unique contribution to the financial planning literature and offers a further framework in the armamentarium of researchers interested in pursuing questions around the value of financial planning. The conceptual framework derived from the analysis also adds to the growing body of literature aimed at developing an integrated model of financial planning.

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