2013 Conference

Financial Services

Financial Services

Our understanding about the determinants of financial help seeking has seen limited advances over the last decade.  Although we know more about correlates to having a financial advisor, we know relatively little about factors related to beginning the use of a financial advisor.  We know even less about the financial advice seeking behavior of older individuals who are arguably most at risk of poor financial decisions.  This study presents the first longitudinal results showing factors associated with seeking and discontinuing the use of a financial advisor among older Americans.  Using the 1993 and 1995 waves of the Asset and Health Dynamics among the Oldest Old (AHEAD), we analyze factors associated with the decision to begin using a financial advisor as well as factors associated with the decision to discontinue the use of a financial advisor.  We focus attention on influential life events and other impactful changes that may lead an older individual to change their use of professional financial advice.  We find that beginning use of a financial advisor is significantly associated with becoming a widow, and with two help-seeking behaviors: asking for assistance from family members in financial decisions and seeking a doctor’s help for emotional or psychiatric problems. Similarly, discontinuing the use of the advisor is negatively associated with widowhood and retirement (both recent and previous), and an increase in the number of chronic illnesses experienced by a respondent.