Factors influencing middle income black professionals’ intention to seek financial planning assistance
- Authors: Mtimba, Sinaye Akhumzi
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Finance, Personal , Financial literacy Financial planners Middle class -- South Africa -- Finance
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/22813 , vital:30099
- Description: With the rising day to day expenses especially post retirement when income streams are running low, financial planning helps to better manage such events more effectively. Through a proper financial plan individuals do not just deal with wealth creation and wealth protection but are able to start from the basics of budgeting, were individuals are taught how to live within their means. In South Africa, financial planning has been seen to be focusing on the more affluent clients. This has resulted in a distinct lack of academic literature done on middle income black professionals in relation to financial planning. This is despite the increase of the black middle class population which has been accompanied with an increased purchasing power exceeding that of the previously wealthier white middle class. The growth of the black middle class in South Africa has been accompanied with stumbling blocks, ranging from the lack of financial literacy of the black middle class, negative attitude towards the financial services industry that influence financial decision making, and the pre-existing perception that are built on the lack of financial awareness, a legacy left by the history of division that South Africa had. Therefore the main aim of this study was to investigate the factors that influence middle income black professionals’ intention to seek financial planning assistance. Both secondary and primary data were used to help achieve the primary research objective of the study. An in-depth literature review on the financial planning industry in South Africa that included the nature of financial planning, the role of the financial planner, the six step financial planning process, the importance and benefits of financial planning, current trends in the financial planning industry, financial planning and the middle income black professionals and the factors that influence the middle income black professionals’ intention to seek financial planning assistance was conducted. Selected study of the literature revealed six factors that might influence an individual’s intention to seek financial planning assistance, namely Attitude, Awareness, Family financial norms, Financial self-efficacy, Trust and Perceived rewards. A theoretical framework was proposed illustrating the relationships between the factors influencing middle income black professionals’ intention to seek financial planning assistance that were to be empirically tested. A positivistic research paradigm was followed and a quantitative approach was implemented. Snowball and convenience sampling was used and a total of 300 questionnaires were distributed to middle income black professionals in the Eastern Cape. For the purpose of this study, middle income black professionals refer to qualified working individuals in the middle income bracket, including teachers, nurses, administrative workers, office-based municipal workers and employees in the private sector, such as those working in the banks and retail supervisors. These were distributed to verify their intentional behaviour with regards to seeking financial planning assistance. From the 300 questionnaires distributed, 271 usable questionnaires were yielded. Statistical techniques including descriptive statistics, Pearson’s product moment correlations and multiple regression analysis were performed on the gathered data. Demographic data relating to the gender, age and first language of the respondents was collected. An exploratory factor analysis was undertaken, and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were calculated to assess the validity and reliability of the measuring instrument. As a result of the factor analysis the operational definitions were rephrased. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients reported were all greater than 0.7, deeming the scales measuring the various dimensions reliable. Descriptive statistics were calculated to summarise the sample data, and Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficients were established to investigate the associations between the variables. Significant positive correlations were reported between all of the variables. The results of the descriptive statistics showed that the majority of respondents agreed that Attitude (77.73%), Financial self-efficacy (61.13%) and Perceived rewards (76.98%) were the most influencing factors. The results of the multiple regression analysis revealed that three factors had a significant positive influence on the dependent variable Intention to seek financial planning assistance, namely Attitude, Awareness and Perceived rewards. The factors Family financial norms, Financial self-efficacy and Trust were rejected as there was no significant relationship found between them and the Intention to seek financial planning assistance. Based on the results, it is recommended that financial service providers focus on financial education by engaging with the middle income black professionals through accessible media such as radio and television. Furthermore, financial service providers should shift from a sales orientated philosophy to a lifestyle financial planning advice philosophy that encourage value for the service rendered to the client and sells benefit than product. The Department of Education should put in place basic financial planning curriculum that can be deliverable at schooling level and is examinable in order to improve the basic financial knowledge and awareness amongst the next generation. Lastly the middle income black professionals are encouraged to read their documents when taking out financial products as well as financial related articles to develop their financial knowledge.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Mtimba, Sinaye Akhumzi
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Finance, Personal , Financial literacy Financial planners Middle class -- South Africa -- Finance
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/22813 , vital:30099
- Description: With the rising day to day expenses especially post retirement when income streams are running low, financial planning helps to better manage such events more effectively. Through a proper financial plan individuals do not just deal with wealth creation and wealth protection but are able to start from the basics of budgeting, were individuals are taught how to live within their means. In South Africa, financial planning has been seen to be focusing on the more affluent clients. This has resulted in a distinct lack of academic literature done on middle income black professionals in relation to financial planning. This is despite the increase of the black middle class population which has been accompanied with an increased purchasing power exceeding that of the previously wealthier white middle class. The growth of the black middle class in South Africa has been accompanied with stumbling blocks, ranging from the lack of financial literacy of the black middle class, negative attitude towards the financial services industry that influence financial decision making, and the pre-existing perception that are built on the lack of financial awareness, a legacy left by the history of division that South Africa had. Therefore the main aim of this study was to investigate the factors that influence middle income black professionals’ intention to seek financial planning assistance. Both secondary and primary data were used to help achieve the primary research objective of the study. An in-depth literature review on the financial planning industry in South Africa that included the nature of financial planning, the role of the financial planner, the six step financial planning process, the importance and benefits of financial planning, current trends in the financial planning industry, financial planning and the middle income black professionals and the factors that influence the middle income black professionals’ intention to seek financial planning assistance was conducted. Selected study of the literature revealed six factors that might influence an individual’s intention to seek financial planning assistance, namely Attitude, Awareness, Family financial norms, Financial self-efficacy, Trust and Perceived rewards. A theoretical framework was proposed illustrating the relationships between the factors influencing middle income black professionals’ intention to seek financial planning assistance that were to be empirically tested. A positivistic research paradigm was followed and a quantitative approach was implemented. Snowball and convenience sampling was used and a total of 300 questionnaires were distributed to middle income black professionals in the Eastern Cape. For the purpose of this study, middle income black professionals refer to qualified working individuals in the middle income bracket, including teachers, nurses, administrative workers, office-based municipal workers and employees in the private sector, such as those working in the banks and retail supervisors. These were distributed to verify their intentional behaviour with regards to seeking financial planning assistance. From the 300 questionnaires distributed, 271 usable questionnaires were yielded. Statistical techniques including descriptive statistics, Pearson’s product moment correlations and multiple regression analysis were performed on the gathered data. Demographic data relating to the gender, age and first language of the respondents was collected. An exploratory factor analysis was undertaken, and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were calculated to assess the validity and reliability of the measuring instrument. As a result of the factor analysis the operational definitions were rephrased. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients reported were all greater than 0.7, deeming the scales measuring the various dimensions reliable. Descriptive statistics were calculated to summarise the sample data, and Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficients were established to investigate the associations between the variables. Significant positive correlations were reported between all of the variables. The results of the descriptive statistics showed that the majority of respondents agreed that Attitude (77.73%), Financial self-efficacy (61.13%) and Perceived rewards (76.98%) were the most influencing factors. The results of the multiple regression analysis revealed that three factors had a significant positive influence on the dependent variable Intention to seek financial planning assistance, namely Attitude, Awareness and Perceived rewards. The factors Family financial norms, Financial self-efficacy and Trust were rejected as there was no significant relationship found between them and the Intention to seek financial planning assistance. Based on the results, it is recommended that financial service providers focus on financial education by engaging with the middle income black professionals through accessible media such as radio and television. Furthermore, financial service providers should shift from a sales orientated philosophy to a lifestyle financial planning advice philosophy that encourage value for the service rendered to the client and sells benefit than product. The Department of Education should put in place basic financial planning curriculum that can be deliverable at schooling level and is examinable in order to improve the basic financial knowledge and awareness amongst the next generation. Lastly the middle income black professionals are encouraged to read their documents when taking out financial products as well as financial related articles to develop their financial knowledge.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Financial literacy and behaviour among the black community in Nelson Mandela Bay
- Authors: Antoni, Xolile Lucas
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Finance, Personal , Investments -- Psychological aspects , Investments -- Decision making
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:9315 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020027
- Description: South Africa has a poor savings culture. This means that South Africans do not save enough income for a later stage resulting in a relative large number of South African consumers living in debt and using more credit than what they have saved. Almost half of the South African consumers were in debt during the year 2010 and had a negative credit record. Thus consumers in South Africa are not living only in poor conditions but are also open to exploitation by the informal economy. Lenders in the informal economy are known as ‘loan sharks’ because they charge consumers interest rates of between 40 and 60 percent. This is because low income consumers have less access to savings products and credit facilities from the formal economy. These factors are more prevalent among the black consumers, as they use informal credit providers. The sources of credit for black consumers in the informal market are social networks such as friends and family. Furthermore, black consumers have low levels of knowledge regarding issues such as bad debts. Black consumers are also more likely to experience financial problems than other racial groups. This means that black consumers may need to improve their levels of financial knowledge, financial skills and adopt positive financial attitudes to manage their financial problems without obtaining more debt. Thus, financial education may be the way of ensuring that black consumers improve their financial decision-making ability and their financial behaviour. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between financial literacy, financial inclusion and financial behaviour among the black community in Nelson Mandela Bay. To achieve the purpose of this study, a literature review was conducted on financial literacy, financial education, financial inclusion and financial behaviour. This was followed by an empirical investigation to establish the relationships between financial literacy, financial inclusion and financial behaviour. In this study, a quantitative research approach was adopted as necessitated by the purpose of this study and also to be able to collect a vast amount of perceptions from the black community. The sample of this study consisted of low to middle income black consumers living in Nelson Mandela Bay.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Antoni, Xolile Lucas
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Finance, Personal , Investments -- Psychological aspects , Investments -- Decision making
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:9315 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020027
- Description: South Africa has a poor savings culture. This means that South Africans do not save enough income for a later stage resulting in a relative large number of South African consumers living in debt and using more credit than what they have saved. Almost half of the South African consumers were in debt during the year 2010 and had a negative credit record. Thus consumers in South Africa are not living only in poor conditions but are also open to exploitation by the informal economy. Lenders in the informal economy are known as ‘loan sharks’ because they charge consumers interest rates of between 40 and 60 percent. This is because low income consumers have less access to savings products and credit facilities from the formal economy. These factors are more prevalent among the black consumers, as they use informal credit providers. The sources of credit for black consumers in the informal market are social networks such as friends and family. Furthermore, black consumers have low levels of knowledge regarding issues such as bad debts. Black consumers are also more likely to experience financial problems than other racial groups. This means that black consumers may need to improve their levels of financial knowledge, financial skills and adopt positive financial attitudes to manage their financial problems without obtaining more debt. Thus, financial education may be the way of ensuring that black consumers improve their financial decision-making ability and their financial behaviour. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between financial literacy, financial inclusion and financial behaviour among the black community in Nelson Mandela Bay. To achieve the purpose of this study, a literature review was conducted on financial literacy, financial education, financial inclusion and financial behaviour. This was followed by an empirical investigation to establish the relationships between financial literacy, financial inclusion and financial behaviour. In this study, a quantitative research approach was adopted as necessitated by the purpose of this study and also to be able to collect a vast amount of perceptions from the black community. The sample of this study consisted of low to middle income black consumers living in Nelson Mandela Bay.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
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