A recent Quilter survey found that most adults in the UK take their financial advice from people via media outlets like television, radio and online. 35% said they used this source to help manage their finances followed by 30% saying they used comparison sites and 29% using advice from family members.
The Lewises
Paul Lewis presents BBC Radio 4’s Money Box. Martin Lewis is the founder of MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) and is a financial journalist and broadcaster.
Paul Lewis has faced backlash for claiming that consumers should use large, national mortgage brokers in order to access the “best possible deal.” As you can probably imagine, independent mortgage brokers were not happy to see their names besmirched by someone who is not even qualified to give advice in their field.
Click here to read more about what brokers’ had to say in response to Lewis’ comments.
Paul Lewis has in fact responded to the brokers’ backlash, stating:
“as I say always find an independent chartered financial adviser and admit that excludes some good, restricted advisers and some good IFAs who are not chartered, finding them amongst the rest is impossible. Hence my general advice. Which inevitably excludes some good guys”
Martin Lewis also faced criticism from advisers in October 2022 for telling viewers to stick with standard variable rate mortgages.
A recent article from Mortgage Solutions has highlighted these criticisms and discussed the issue that arises from the general public trusting the word of the Lewises over the advice of qualified financial experts.
What’s the Issue?
Financial journalists can be incredibly helpful in educating the public on financial matters, simplifying complex financial topics to make them more accessible and understandable. Martin Lewis in particular has made huge positive impacts by triggering major initiatives to combat scam ads, urging regulation of Buy Now Pay Later firms, and helping break down difficult financial topics via MSE.
However, education and advice are not to be conflated.
Paul Lewis himself has referred to his advice as “general,” and here lies the issue. The advice being given is often broad, general and unregulated. It is not tailored towards what is specifically best for you and your financial situation. Everyone’s finances are different and so a blanket statement of what is “best” won’t necessarily reflect what is best for all.
Many individuals advising you about your finances through various media outlets are unqualified to give this type of advice. Some advisers are now questioning whether these shows and media forums need to come with a disclaimer that these ‘experts’ are not in fact qualified to give financial advice.