Finansiell rådgivning : En studie om finansiell rådgivnings påverkan på privatpersoners sparande i Sverige

Problem and purpose: The investment environment is becoming more complex, while there is an increasing responsibility to save money for the future. This means that financial advisory has an important role in helping people with their savings. This study aims to examine whether financial advisory has an impact on individuals’ savings and how the demand differs from the variables gender, age, marital status, employment and geographic residence. The study also examines trust in financial advisory and whether there is a difference in risk propensity between men and women. Theory: The study’s theoretical framework deals with theories and models that consist of Gender perspectives, Behavioral Finance, Prospect Theory and Risk Preferences which all a linked to finance. The framework also consists of previous research that deals with the subject. Method: To answer the study’s purpose, triangulation was used where both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The quantitative data consists of a survey with 500 respondents and the qualitative data consists of three interviews with licensed financial advisors. Eight hypotheses are tested using chi-2-test. Conclusions: Financial advice affects individual’s savings through more financial knowledge, but do not result in more risky savings. Four out of five examined variables affect the demand for financial advice, these are gender, marital status, employment and age. The variable that does not affect the demand is geographical residence. Individuals do not feel trust in financial advisory, while trust is an important factor contributing to financial knowledge. Finally, the study shows that men are more risk propensity than women, but that the difference is getting smaller and the younger generation of women begin to take more risks