Abante is an independent financial institution providing financial and wealth advice to both private clients and companies and institutions. They also manage assets, investment funds, pension plans, alternative vehicles. Currently, they have more than 11,000 million euros in managed and advised assets, 9,500 clients and 250 employees. María García-Obregón, Head of People at Abante, tells us about the importance of financial education.
Why is financial education important?
Having financial education is essential for day-to-day life and to make better decisions for the future. I am talking about, of course, consumption, saving and investment decisions, but also about personal, professional, family decisions, etc.
We have to know that financial decisions not only affect us on the economic side, but also condition us when it comes to meeting our objectives and plans.
At Abante we believe that, in addition to improving financial education, economic knowledge must also be promoted.
People have to understand that money is an important part of any vital project.
You have to stop seeing money as an end in itself and start seeing it as the means that will help us achieve what is important to us. For this reason, having a financial culture and economic knowledge is essential, but you also have to know how to manage emotions, since they are usually bad advisers when making decisions that affect our pockets.
How does financial education help in a person’s day to day?
Helps us make better decisions in all areas of life
Decisions such as which checking account we open and in which bank, which card we use to pay for our purchases, if we finance them or not, what loans we ask for, what mortgage we sign or in which product we deposit our savings. Being financially literate is going to make us decide well, judiciously, knowing the implications of the things we sign and choosing based on what we need.
Is it necessary to have higher education to understand the knowledge of financial education?
In my opinion, the most important thing is to acquire financial knowledge from a young age. This would help us internalize and understand them better, becoming more familiar with certain specific concepts in order to put them into practice in the future.
What is the goal of financial education?
I would say that improving people’s quality of life
In the end, as I said, financial decisions transcend the economic part. Therefore, having more financial knowledge will make us make the decisions we need to meet our objectives.
Because? Is so much importance attached to financial education around the world today?
I think because of all the things that have been happening. In this sense, the financial crisis has been a lesson for all of us to be more aware of the importance of knowing what products we are contracting, under what conditions, what risk we are assuming, etc.
Right now, in addition, we are in an environment of greater uncertainty
We have been reading for months, seeing in the news that inflation is rising and we cannot be oblivious to that, we must know how it affects us and what we can do with our money so as not to lose purchasing power with the rise in prices.
Does the younger population have to have more training on this subject?
All people should have financial training, especially in basic concepts that affect us on a day-to-day basis, such as the escalation of inflation. But it is true that we are noticing that young people are increasingly concerned about their finances, there is more of a culture of saving and more interest in where they deposit their money.
How is financial education currently in Spain?
It remains the pending subject. According to the Financial Competence Survey published in 2018 by the Bank of Spain and the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), 42% of Spaniards did not know what inflation was. Another example is one of the PISA reports. Since 2012, in its international evaluation of 15-year-old students, the OECD includes a section on financial education.
In the 2017 report, Spanish students failed again, also getting a worse grade than in the previous year
What kind of training exists for professionals in this area?
We train all the people who join our company, regardless of the department in which they work, so that they obtain the EFA (European Financial Advisor) certificate, granted by EFPA and which recognizes professional suitability to carry out all advisory tasks. finance and thus offer the best advice to our clients.
What kind of profiles are companies looking for?
To be a financial advisor you have to like helping people
We at Abante are looking for young, committed, eager people who want to continue growing and learning, both personally and professionally, and who want to work as a team. The latter is essential because to provide good customer service we work with different teams, as a single company.
How has the financial sector grown in recent years?
Financial advice is being transformed and will continue to do so, especially in contexts of more uncertainty and volatility in the markets, such as the one we are in now. The path is towards the person.
We at Abante have always defended that money is managed and that people are advised
And financial advice goes towards this model. The current context makes it more necessary than ever to establish relationships of trust between the investor and the advisor. The key is, and will be even more so, in understanding the client, what vital objectives he has and how the financial adviser can help him -financially- to achieve them.
Who should hire a financial adviser?
Anyone who wants to get the most out of their money should go to a financial adviser
Because, if when we have a legal problem, we go to a lawyer or when we have a toothache, to the dentist, why don’t we go to a financial adviser to get more out of our money? For us, the figure of the financial advisor is key because it helps people to relate to their money, to understand that before investing, you have to know what you are investing for. Our financial advisors accompany the client throughout their stage as investors, listening to them, understanding their personal circumstances, helping them manage their emotions and draw up the financial and investment plan they need to meet their objectives.
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