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Financial advisers can play an important role with helping individuals make better financial decisions and improving their financial situations. In this report, the authors review evidence from the research literature about whether working with an adviser improves savings behavior, in general, as well as saving for long-term goals, particularly retirement. While much of the literature provides evidence that individuals who receive professional financial advice are more financially healthy than those who do not, few papers attempt to address the endogeneity concerns of reverse causation, limiting insights into whether advisers are causing improvements in their clients' savings behavior.

Table of Contents

  • Chapter One

    Introduction

  • Chapter Two

    Who Receives Advice?

  • Chapter Three

    Do Advisers Influence Clients' Savings Behaviors?

  • Chapter Four

    Other Benefits to Professional Financial Advice

  • Chapter Five

    Who Saves for Retirement?

  • Chapter Six

    Impacts of Workplace Retirement Seminars

  • Chapter Seven

    Summary

This research was undertaken within the Center for Financial and Economic Decision Making (CFED), a part of RAND's Labor and Population research division.

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