A new survey from the LiveMore Barometer, which explores the financial concerns of more than 2,000 people aged over 50 years old, has found that those in that age group trust the financial expertise of Martin Lewis over banks, financial institutions and advisers.
When asked to say which financial advice they trust the most, the highest number at 35 per cent put Martin Lewis’ top – above friends and family – 30 per cent – and their own online research with 29 per cent. However, financial advisers at 22 per cent fared better than bank managers who were the least trusted and cited by only 15 per cent of respondents.
These findings tally with a survey that was cited in Mortgage Solutions’ recent feature on media advisers including Martin Lewis and Radio 4’s Paul Lewis, in which a number of brokers aired their opinions about the Money Saving Expert.
The forgotten generation
One in seven respondents 14 per cent say they feel like the “forgotten generation” when it comes to financial products. Some felt that the financial institutions were either not working on their behalf, did not have enough information for them or over-promoted certain products to ensure a sale.
Others said that financial products aimed at them did not address the real issues facing people of their age – while many said that the promotion of financial products to people over the age of 50 was “patronising and condescending.”
One respondent said: “I feel invisible. Not old enough for a lifetime mortgage, not rich enough for fixed-rate mortgages on the market. I have no help from anyone.”
Financial sector ‘threatened by Lewis’
LiverMore CEO Leon Diamond feels that the financial sector only has itself to blame for how it is viewed by 50-90 years olds because it has squandered their trust.
He said: “It’s become fashionable for the financial industry to criticise Martin Lewis but that’s because it’s threatened by him.
“His critics say he’s a journalist, not a financial expert, but whether they like it or not, he has consistently shone a light on an industry which is often less than transparent – and that has created a trust issue. When it comes to 50-90 year-olds, the findings of our survey show how stark that lack of trust has become with formal industry advice languishing near the bottom of the rankings.
“People are now looking to do their own research, they want to come to their own conclusions and, when they do so, the industry’s impenetrable language of rates and commission fees pushes them into the space owned by Martin Lewis – where the language is more transparent and where all the options are, frankly, explained more clearly.”
Diamond said the industry’s past preference for mortgage rate short-termism was a big part of the trust issue.
He said: “In the US and Europe, 10, 15 or 30-year fixed rate mortgages are common. While in the UK, the industry continues to work on short-term two- or five-year cycles.”
