“That is a natural point in time where actually you could make financial education a mandatory part of training. In the same way that you're asked to take mandatory training on other aspects of the workplace, you are also given training around, how do all of our benefits work in practice? And what does this mean for you and your take home pay?”
Hoppe also thought another area where financial education could naturally fit into conversations were people coming back from parental leave.
“Employers are often privy to information about people who are taking time off for parental leave. So when they do come back as part of people's return to work plan there is a very natural moment in time where it would be great to be able to offer people things they might need to know to provide for themselves and their family financially,” she added.
Working with advisers
Hoppe has been in conversation with advisory groups to see how WealthBrite could work with advisers to ensure people are achieving their financial goals and getting the right type of help they need.
“Advisers who have gone into workplaces to offer small sessions tell me that nine times out of 10 the questions that are asked of them are indicative that this person doesn't understand the absolute basics of either their pension or their personal financial plans.
“And actually it's not the right time for them to engage with an adviser, because they will be paying for that advice, when what they need is to build up their ground level basic understanding and awareness of how money works in practice."
Hoppe said she would love to work with more advisers to better support them by providing financial education to people which in turn may make them engage with an adviser later down the line.
“It is about how can advisers actually start to work with people who are maybe a bit younger, at an earlier stage of their income trajectory, and then build a longer term relationship with them whereby they have helped them develop some of those foundational financial skills.
“And because they've built that relationship, they are there and ready as a trusted adviser when it is the right time for somebody to take up the offer of formal financial advice.
“If we can be part of that continuum by shoring up people's baseline level of financial skills at the start of their career, and we can help them get into a practice and a habit of dealing with their money so that they will be much more aware of when seeking financial advice is right for them. Then I am here for that,” she added.
