Men are more trusting of financial guidance than women, new research from The Investing and Saving Alliance (TISA) has revealed.
While over half (56%) of men trust that guidance aimed at encouraging savers to become investors, given by a regulated financial services provider, is given in their best interests, just 43% of women say the same.
Furthermore, women (27%) are also much less likely than men (43%) to feel confident using AI search engines to help with their personal finances.
TISA said the varying approaches to financial decisions across different groups makes the Government’s ambition of achieving a more balanced retail culture a challenge.
Across all age groups, more people expressed ambivalence (28%) and uncertainty (10%) towards financial guidance given by their financial provider than outright mistrust (13%).
However, less than half (49%) of UK adults said they would trust that support or guidance from a regulated financial services provider would be in their best interests. Londoners were the most trusting (60%), while those in the North East were least trusting (38%).
Trust was found to be highest amongst 25-34 year olds (67%), dropping to 55% for those aged 35-44 and falling below 50% among both the youngest adults (18-24) and everyone aged 45 and over.
Meanwhile, only a third (34%) of UK adults said they were confident in using AI for help with their personal finances. Londoners expressed the highest confidence (54%) with Northern Ireland and the South West the lowest (24%).
Carol Knight, CEO of TISA, said: “Clearly, there is a growing split in how people deal with their money. Many – especially women – may be unsure where to turn for support and mistrustful of the industry, while others, more often men, are already leaning on AI tools that freely admit they can be wrong. That isn’t something a single new rule or product can fix.”
Knight said targeted support will be crucial to reaching disengaged consumers who no longer trust the system, as well as building the retail investing culture the Government is quite rightly aiming to foster.
“TISA strongly supports this ambition to make growth more inclusive and improve consumers’ financial wellbeing. However, targeted support should not be treated like a silver bullet. It needs to sit alongside simpler, decision-useful disclosures, clearer risk warnings, and more inclusive marketing that normalises money conversations so people can get the help they need from credible, stable and trustworthy providers,” Knight added.
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