Advisor Clients Bask in Glow of Financial Confidence: Study

Americans who work with a financial advisor not only feel well-prepared for retirement, but are also more financially confident overall, according to a new study released Tuesday by Northwestern Mutual.

The findings are part of Northwestern Mutual’s annual Planning & Progress Study. Two earlier segments focused on debt and the current state of financial optimism.

The latest study found that 70% of respondents who used advisors said their retirement plan was designed to endure market ups and downs, compared with 30% without advisors.

In addition, 92% of those who received financial advice had discussed retirement with someone, while only 51% without an advisor had done so.

Study participants without financial advisors were twice as likely as those with advisors to consider lack of savings as an obstacle to retirement security.

And 49% of those without an advisor said they had done nothing to address the possibility of outliving their savings, compared with just 15% of those with an advisor.

“Working with an advisor is like having an experienced guide map out an itinerary for your retirement journey that’s tailored to your unique lifestyle goals and circumstances,” Rebekah Barsch, Northwestern Mutual’s vice president for planning, said in a statement.

The findings came from interviews conducted in mid-February by Harris Poll with 2,749 American adults: 2,117 in the general population and an oversample of 632 millennials.