The Academy of Financial Services (AFS) is excited to be collaborating with FPA to provide an "integrated conference experience" for AFS members this year. The AFS research conference will run for the full 2.5 days of the FPA Conference as part of a dedicated research track bringing the best of AFS and the Journal of Financial Planning (JFP) to you.
- A dedicated Research Room for presentations designed to bring the most relevant research impacting professional financial planners. This includes research sessions sponsored by the JFP and peer-reviewed research papers presented by AFS members. These sessions are CE credit approved.
- The winner of the JFP's Montgomery-Warschauer Award for best research from the prior year will present their research.
- In the Research Room AFS will coordinate other research content such as a panel discussion with the editors of the 4 major FP research journals explaining to planners and academics the type of research content to be found, how to best consume/digest research and apply it to a FP practice and more.
- A new FP Research Shark Tank. Based on the format of the popular TV series a select number of researchers will do 5 minute "pitches" on research that they believe would be significantly impactful for practitioners. Planners and researchers will then vote on the most exciting research proposal.
- AFS are co-ordinating 2 additional mini-breakout research rooms where researchers will present additional peer-reviewed, unpublished research selected from the many submissions we received. A timetable of these sessions can be found below.
- AFS will manage the research rooms for fully-hybrid attendance with face-to-face or virtual attendance. Although the content will be exceptional, we hope to see many of you in person as the networking, exhibit hall, FPA keynote speakers and other sessions outside of the research cannot be experienced any other way.
What is the Role of Planners' Communication Amid Clients' Financial Anxiety?
Short Description
This study investigates the crucial role of financial planners' communication in addressing clients' financial anxiety and its significant impact on key outcomes such as loyalty, adherence to recommendations, and client satisfaction. We examined three communication categories: Topics (to help discover clients’ financial information and goals), Tasks (to help uncover clients’ values and socialization), and Skills (verbal and non-verbal communication skills). Our findings highlight that Tasks and Skills are significantly related to clients' satisfaction and their likelihood of following recommendations. However, communication Topics showed no significant association with loyalty, except when mediated by financial anxiety. Interestingly, higher financial anxiety increased clients' loyalty to their planners. These insights underscore the importance of effective communication strategies in fostering trust, reducing anxiety, and enhancing client-planner relationships. This research is vital for developing improved communication techniques that can lead to better financial planning outcomes and stronger client relationships.