Why Age No Longer Predicts Financial Behaviour with Farzana Botha

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Financial planners often use age and generation to understand how clients might think, behave, and make decisions. But what happens when those assumptions no longer hold true?

In this episode of PROpulsion LIVE, Francois du Toit speaks with Farzana Botha about the behavioural shifts revealed in the 45th Sanlam Benchmark Survey.

The research shows that financial pressure is changing behaviour across generations. Younger clients are placing more value on certainty. Gen X clients are carrying debt, family responsibilities, and growing health risks. Retirees are more digitally active and financially resourceful than many people assume.

The conversation explores one big question:

How must financial planners change their client conversations when age no longer reliably predicts financial behaviour?

Francois and Farzana discuss:

• Why traditional generational labels can mislead planners
• How economic pressure is changing client decisions
• What younger clients are telling us about certainty and security
• Why Gen X may be under more strain than their income suggests
• What advisers are getting wrong about retirees
• How debt, health, family responsibilities and income pressure shape behaviour
• What questions planners should ask instead
• How institutions, product providers and technology need to respond
• What financial planners can change in their next client meeting

The Sanlam Benchmark findings suggest that many financial decisions are shaped by present pressure rather than a lack of concern for the future. They also show that clients across different ages are starting to behave in less predictable and more similar ways.

This episode is for financial planners, advisers, business owners, managers, product providers, and anyone who wants to understand how client behaviour is changing.

PROpulsion LIVE helps financial professionals move from knowing to doing and build better financial planning businesses.

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