Taking the anxiety out of finance

It’s an anxious time for mortgage borrowers. A recent study by Handelsbanken Wealth found that the proportion of UK adults apprehensive about making mortgage decisions over the past year has jumped to more than one in five (21%) from the 15% registered last year.

It’s not just mortgages causing this concern either; anxiety around most other major financial decisions, from investments to pensions, has grown too.

This growing disquiet perhaps isn’t surprising given what’s going on in the world. Conflicts thousands of miles away are having a direct impact on finances much closer to home, including on mortgage interest rates. Just last week Moneyfacts reported that average five-year fixed rates had passed 6% for the first time in three years.

Little wonder that borrowers are feeling worried.

THE CALM IN THE STORM

That worry can manifest in different ways, but advisers will have no doubt heard from plenty of clients in recent weeks who are stressing over their purchase or refinance prospects, whether now is the time to pull the trigger or hold off.

When rates are rising quickly, it’s not uncommon for advisers to suddenly find they are spending more time on the phone or email, trying to talk clients through the situation calmly.

Advisers are crucial here, countering the speed of change in the market with a slower, more considered approach to ensure communication is clear, details are shared accurately, and decisions are driven by logic rather than emotion, or at least as much as is possible given the emotive nature of our relationship with homes.

The best advisers are able to explain why this is happening, and to help steer their clients through the volatility, rather than reacting in a frenzied manner themselves.

WHAT ABOUT ADVISER ANXIETIES?

Of course, advisers aren’t immune to feeling the pressure at the moment either. The stress of the sudden product changes can take its toll, leading to uncomfortable conversations with clients if the deal they were going to apply for has now disappeared, leaving them facing a bigger monthly outlay.

Throw in the fact that advisers are often expected to be available around the clock, and it’s easy to see how advisers can find themselves feeling emotionally and physically exhausted.

This is why it’s so important for advisers to have a support network around them which they can turn to, and lean on when necessary. It’s not just about maintaining boundaries and ensuring that you can switch off from the stresses of the job – they may be times when advisers need professional help themselves.

At Rosemount, we have worked with Six MHA, the mental health support organisation established by former England captain Tony Adams, to provide advisers, their employees and their families with a range of services aimed at building and maintaining stronger mental health.

It’s at times like this when networks really prove their worth to advisers. If we deliver the right structure, then even if the market is proving particularly tumultuous, advisers are better able to navigate their way through.

The counter to that is also true; it’s when the market is at its most anxiety-inducing that networks who rely on words, rather than actions, are at their most exposed.

RIDING OUT THE STORM

No one in the industry can predict, with any great certainty, when the current rollercoaster will start to level off. But we can all rest assured that it certainly won’t be the last time when events elsewhere have a clear knock-on effect on mortgage rates, sparking upset, concern and confusion among our clients.

Advisers do an outstanding job in addressing those anxieties, but they can only do that if they have the right support structure around them.

Now is the time for advisers to review their setup, and for networks to ensure we are doing enough to back our members. By being proactive, we can lessen the chances of adviser burnout.