Not everyone thinks the same
Estimates vary, but around 15% to 20% of people in the UK are neurodivergent, with conditions such as autism, ADHD and dyslexia. That’s millions of people and, each day, a significant amount of them will be receiving financial advice in the same way and through the same channels that people do who are not neurodivergent.
And it’s precisely this, according to one financial expert who has studied neurodivergence over the past four years, that is a problem. Nouran Moustafa, an IFA at Roxton Wealth, who was last week named Defaqto financial adviser of the year at the age of just 24, said that financial services have too often failed to adapt to the fact that not everyone thinks the same and processes information in the same way.
She says advice is too often handed out as it always has been, namely in text-heavy documents sent via email or in the post, or time-intensive catch-ups, whether face-to-face or on video calls. And that needs to change.
Nouran said: “We now know that a significant number of people are neurodivergent. For example, people with ADHD will often have shorter attention spans, while those with dyslexia may take longer to process information, especially lengthy financial explainers and risk warnings. Despite this, neurodivergent people will often receive advice on major financial decisions such as their mortgage, investments and pensions in ways that are just not suited to how their brains work.”
Nouran said that when she worked with clients who are neurodivergent she adapted her approach on a case-by-case basis: “For example, if someone has ADHD, I’ll break down a meeting that would normally take an hour into three chunks of 20 minutes. That way, they’re less likely to lose interest and risk making decisions when they have not fully taken on board the information being presented to them.
“Equally, with dyslexic clients, I will often simplify the correspondence with them, or send them personal video explainers or visuals alongside documents that are text-heavy or really important. That helps them look at the information in a way that can be more easily digested.
“As I see it, if someone’s not receiving information, or being communicated with, in a way that works for them, that’s not financial advice, it’s a transaction.
“And that’s where things can start to go wrong. It’s something that I think the whole financial services industry needs to take more seriously moving forward.”
Nouran said that everyone who was neurodivergent should ask their advisor, whether that’s a mortgage broker or a wealth manager, what systems and processes they have in place to give them advice in a way that better meets their needs.
She said: “I think this is an important point to raise for anyone who is neurodivergent. If you’re making important financial decisions, you need to ensure you are receiving information in a way that works for you.
“Otherwise, you may not be making the right decisions and that’s a worry.”
