Why your qualifications, designations are good for business

Study shows that wealthier consumers prefer those with credentials

Why your qualifications, designations are good for business

Mortgage advisors who display their qualifications and professional designations may be more likely to attract clients, especially higher earners.

A recent study by the University of Illinois found that those who earn more in their jobs are more willing to pay more for those that have credentials.

"In financial planning, we teach the idea that you should be certified in the area you plan on practicing. It's the standard of practice the industry has been following since the late 1970s, but do consumers find an actual value?” asked co-author Craig Lemoine, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the U of I and director of the department's financial planning program.

Together with the report’s leading author Sterling Raskie, lecturer of finance in Gies College of Business, he grouped participants by age, income, and investible assets.

They then worked with an advisor from either a group with credentials, or those without.

The study also found that younger consumers are also more likely to favor advisors with credentials.

"The conclusion we came to in this article was that younger consumers need more help because they might not have the same financial literacy than an older consumer," Lemoine explains. "You might just see a willingness to pay for service in today's generation that you didn't see in the past."