This month the team at FPC ran a course on financial literacy for law graduates entering the material world in partnership with BPP University Law School, a first of its kind initiative within the world of higher education.
The BPP initiative was introduced after research from the University showed that 93% of its students had not been given any advice while studying elsewhere as an undergraduate about how to make the financial transition from life as a student to the world of work. Only half (50%) said that they felt confident when it comes to managing money. And three in five (59%) said that worries about money had impacted their mental wellbeing.
Senior Adviser at FPC, Paul Welsh says that investment misinformation has grown exponentially in recent years and professionals are not immune to getting trapped.
“There is a lot of dangerous advice and get-rich-quick films across social media. TikTok, for example, is full of films of people in glamorous locations saying they can teach you to trade currencies or build a commercial property portfolio, so you only need to work a few hours a day. The films make you think ‘that’s the lifestyle I want’, so you listen to the advice. Many of the people watching don’t understand that there is always an element of risk when it comes to investment.”
“Often there is a lack of awareness of the irrationality in our financial thinking, and we are all susceptible. Graduates and professionals can be more susceptible to that fallacy because, they think, they are more educated and rational,” he added.
“People often come out of education with very little idea of the importance of money management and the need to start good financial planning. Debt, savings, budgeting and tax planning can be quite dull subjects and it’s easy to make mistakes. Our emotions and ‘rules of thumb’ often affect our financial decision-making.”
The BPP sessions were held during Financial Planning Week from 11th to 17th October to teach law students about the importance of savings and investments, tax planning and pensions, insurance products and understanding debt. The University, under the guidance of Paul and the team from FPC, also offered students personal, one-to-one financial advice and a consultation to help them make the transition from student to professional life.
Watch the video of the presentations:
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