Voici en version originale et intégrale les résultats d'une analyse conjointe des firmes National et Sonic Boom sur les grandes tendances des discussions "Finances personnelles" sur reddit.com.
Financial institutions have a moral responsibility The community believes that Canadian financial institutions (FIs) have a moral responsibility to educate consumers on personal finance in an unbiased manner. Canadian members of reddit crave financial education and spend a lot of time asking questions and debating topics pertaining to their own financial matters. However, they don’t currently seek that education from FIs because they believe that FIs are mainly interested in advancing their own interests (selling to them) rather than in creating a more empowered audience base. This is a perception that will need to be addressed if financial education programs funded by FIs are to be truly impactful in the coming year.
Debt is a dirty word Debt is one of the biggest issues affecting reddit community members in Canada, with a majority of the conversations focused on debt management and reduction. Clearly, this is a hot topic for the community and has been for a while. Here again, the community seeks support from one another because they believe that financial institutions don’t benefit from consumers who are looking to be debt free, and therefore provide advice that isn’t in the best interest of consumers. Clearly, there is need for much education on the subject of debt and a general level of trust needs to be reestablished between consumers and financial institutions in the country.
Younger Canadians feel ignored On reddit, it is widely believed that financial institutions don’t afford much attention to their younger clients. Younger redditors (under 30) believe that they are less lucrative to FIs and are therefore typically only provided generic support and advice. As a result, many are turning toward mobile applications and online bloggers as sources of financial information and knowledge, rather than seeking out professional advisors to assist them with their financial planning.
Investors seek calculated risk Community members are increasingly interested in considering investment opportunities that yield greater returns, and are willing to take on the added risk that comes with such strategies. However, they view the advice and support they receive from the banking and finance industry to be too cookie-cutter and impersonal. Most talk about how they’re often told by their financial advisors to simply acquire a property – a strategy that is much less attractive to these members, who believe that the real-estate market is in a bubble and that they will have to wait a long time before seeing any significant returns on their investment. Community members want to see ‘faster results’. They say they have time, and in many cases, the money to test investments, but feel that financial institutions fail to offer them the know-how and advice they need to pursue the returns they want to see.
CONCLUSION
The findings point to some interesting opportunities for the financial services sector. While there is skepticism in the online community regarding the educational programs that various financial institutions currently offer, there is also simmering frustration over the lack of inventiveness and choice in investment vehicles offered by FIs to consumers. The reality is that consumers are already gravitating towards independent online communities and experts for financial strategy and advice. In particular, FIs need to find a way to make themselves relevant to younger consumers quickly – or risk losing a key audience that is increasingly vocal and thirsty for a sense of financial empowerment and control.
Financial institutions have a moral responsibility The community believes that Canadian financial institutions (FIs) have a moral responsibility to educate consumers on personal finance in an unbiased manner. Canadian members of reddit crave financial education and spend a lot of time asking questions and debating topics pertaining to their own financial matters. However, they don’t currently seek that education from FIs because they believe that FIs are mainly interested in advancing their own interests (selling to them) rather than in creating a more empowered audience base. This is a perception that will need to be addressed if financial education programs funded by FIs are to be truly impactful in the coming year.
Debt is a dirty word Debt is one of the biggest issues affecting reddit community members in Canada, with a majority of the conversations focused on debt management and reduction. Clearly, this is a hot topic for the community and has been for a while. Here again, the community seeks support from one another because they believe that financial institutions don’t benefit from consumers who are looking to be debt free, and therefore provide advice that isn’t in the best interest of consumers. Clearly, there is need for much education on the subject of debt and a general level of trust needs to be reestablished between consumers and financial institutions in the country.
Younger Canadians feel ignored On reddit, it is widely believed that financial institutions don’t afford much attention to their younger clients. Younger redditors (under 30) believe that they are less lucrative to FIs and are therefore typically only provided generic support and advice. As a result, many are turning toward mobile applications and online bloggers as sources of financial information and knowledge, rather than seeking out professional advisors to assist them with their financial planning.
Investors seek calculated risk Community members are increasingly interested in considering investment opportunities that yield greater returns, and are willing to take on the added risk that comes with such strategies. However, they view the advice and support they receive from the banking and finance industry to be too cookie-cutter and impersonal. Most talk about how they’re often told by their financial advisors to simply acquire a property – a strategy that is much less attractive to these members, who believe that the real-estate market is in a bubble and that they will have to wait a long time before seeing any significant returns on their investment. Community members want to see ‘faster results’. They say they have time, and in many cases, the money to test investments, but feel that financial institutions fail to offer them the know-how and advice they need to pursue the returns they want to see.
CONCLUSION
The findings point to some interesting opportunities for the financial services sector. While there is skepticism in the online community regarding the educational programs that various financial institutions currently offer, there is also simmering frustration over the lack of inventiveness and choice in investment vehicles offered by FIs to consumers. The reality is that consumers are already gravitating towards independent online communities and experts for financial strategy and advice. In particular, FIs need to find a way to make themselves relevant to younger consumers quickly – or risk losing a key audience that is increasingly vocal and thirsty for a sense of financial empowerment and control.
