Teaching Financial Advice for the future
A recent study undertaken by MyBnk on behalf of the FT Adviser, found that only 52% of children aged between 7-11 years old have received or learnt about some aspects of financial education in schools.
The effect of not teaching financial education in primary and secondary schools is that, for many of the young children who grow up and reach adulthood, their understanding of basic personal finance will be limited to just having a young savers bank account. Without teaching them basic finance, children will not see the highlights and just rewards of good financial practices. This lack of financial understanding will lead to the future generation being in a perilous financial position, confirmed by research conducted through the Money Advice Service, which found that nearly half of the age group 18-24-year olds were unable to cover an unexpected bill of just £500.
It should not come as a surprise that fewer young people consider a career in the financial services sector. Many young people will have never thought about or even heard about financial advice as a profession and, even if they have, they may be confused about what it actually entails.
Making financial education a compulsory part of the primary school curriculum should be a basic requirement and a step in the right direction to increase general exposure of financial literacy. As we all know that good habits are best started early, we desperately need to give children the tools to manage their own money from an early age to give them the best possible start in life when they have to one day leave the family home.
If we can improve financial education, we might find that the next generation decide to advise people on their money too, and as a consequence bolster the Finance industry with new talent and ways of thinking.
What we can do to help
The amount of money being saved into Junior ISAs has been rising in recent years and here at Philip J Milton & Company we offer Junior ISAs for children and grandchildren, which can only be accessed by the them when they reach eighteen years old. This type of investment is a very good first investment for young people to help educate them about longer term investments when they reach adulthood.
If you would like to know more about the options available please do contact us to make a mutually convenient appointment. We have a team of highly qualified advisers who would be happy to discuss your options, with the initial meeting provided at our cost.