Despite economic woes, Americans still trust face-to-face financial advice

July 28, 2010

Americans still seek out traditional financial professionals for help with money management, according to a recent Capstrat-Public Policy Polling survey. The results of the survey underscore a prevalent view in today’s recessionary market, showing that most people still trust financial advice — at least that given through face-to-face contact.

The researchers found that certified public accountants (CPAs) are considered to be the most reliable advisers: 62 percent of respondents rated CPAs with four or five on a five-point scale of reliability. People also see banks (52 percent) and financial consultants (51 percent) as reliable. Only 4 percent of respondents ranked online forums as their “most influential” source of financial advice.

Compared to other age groups, Millennials (18-29 years old) are likely to turn to online sources for financial advice. Among those surveyed, 43 percent reported using online forums and 48 percent consider Google to be the most influential source. Only 10 percent of respondents older than 65 said they look to online venues for financial advice and 6 percent consider Google to be most influential.

Also, women (59 percent) are more likely to use banks as a reliable financial source than men (43 percent), and 57 percent of women claimed to have used a bank recently compared to 37 percent of men. Women also consider banks “most influential” (22 percent versus only 12 percent of men). Men called financial advisers “most influential” more often than women did (28 percent to 19 percent).

For the complete survey results, view the PDF here.
 

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