A Financial Planner says the sector must discover how to help people beat the “fear of seeking advice”.

Chartered Financial Planner Diane Weitz CFPTM, founder of Ashlea Financial Planning in Cheltenham, said planners need to find ways to be “more approachable” and work out how to get in front of the public more to boost Financial Planning’s profile.

Ms Weitz, who has been chairman of the Cotswold IFP Branch for the last five years, now under the CISI, gave her views to Financial Planning Today magazine for the launch edition. 

See below for how to access the new magazine to read the full article about her business.

The lifestyle Financial Planning advocate, who has also become a SOLLA accredited adviser providing Financial Advice for the elderly, outlined what she believes the key is to making more of the general public aware of the benefits of managing their finances through a Financial Planner and making it easier to understand.

She said: “It is hard for clients to understand the importance of Financial Planning until they have experienced it. We need to find a way of overcoming their fear of seeking advice.

“There is usually a life time trigger which encourages people to seek solutions to financial situations which arise. We need to be more approachable and consider ways of being in front of the public so that they know where to go for help.

“More initiatives like Financial Planning Week might eventually bring the message to a wider audience.”

Ms Weitz, whose firm looks after 150 clients, also revealed how attending two recent conferences has changed her perspective on robo-advice.

She discusses how she built her business, made it into a successful venture, and what her plans are for the future.

For the full article, see the new digital Financial Planning Today magazine.

To receive the £6 magazine free of charge you must be a subscriber to our free daily website newsletters. If you are not already a subscriber and would like to see the launch issue of the new magazine please subscribe now below.

Financial Planning Today is a new 40-page digital sister magazine to this website

The new editorially-independent digital magazine has exclusive content produced by a team of experienced financial journalists in London.

Other editorial highlights in the launch issue include:

• Exclusive new features including Inside My Business, Planner Casebook and more
• Business growth tips and advice
• Paraplanning news and comment
• Comment and columns from leading planners and other leading figures in the profession plus an exclusive article from former Pensions Minister Baroness Ros Altmann

The magazine is being launched by Portfolio Publishing, publishers of Financial Planning Today and Sipps Professional websites, both of which offer daily news to thousands of professional financial advisers.

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