I was recently sent the results of a survey by T-Mobile (see bottom of the post) which says that most people will turn to their spouse for advise rather than any professional advisor.

Personally I think this is an entirely rational response.

When I see Bank advertising that one should go to their Bank Manager for help with life’s problems, it makes me want to report them to the to the Advertising Standards body for being misleading.  We all know that the Bank Manager has a very clear agenda controlled by the Bank and it is carefully designed to benefit the Bank irrespective of the interests of the customer.

Most professionals can be identified by the way in which their terms and conditions carefully absolve them from any responsibility under any circumstances.

Anybody with any savings knows that the financial services industry has been great at delivering fantastical fees to itself, but very poor at delivering any benefit to savers.

If people now are very cautious about entering the shark infested waters where advise come with fees attached that the average person can never aspire too, that is probably to the good.

Research attributed to T-Mobile (I cannot vouch for this)

Small business owners are more likely to trust their spouses over accountants or bank managers to give open business advice, a new report has discovered.

The research found that over half of the UK’s small business bosses will turn to their husband, wife or partner at the first instance to receive honest and straight-talking business advice.

According to the national survey of 2,000 small company owners, 51% preferred to talk to their spouse or partner than accountants at 22%. Only 3% said they would prefer to approach trade bodies or other local businesses and a mere 2% said they would expect candid advice from their bank manager.

Martin Lyne, director of SME marketing at T-Mobile, who conducted the survey, said: “80% of the small businesses we polled stated they take advice from people who will give them the truth and will tell it to them straight. As a supplier, we need to take a straight talking approach, offering small business owners uncomplicated products and services that simply help them get on with what they do best. The last thing we want to do is waste their time.”

The survey also revealed that the trend was greatest in the north, with nearly six out of 10 small business owners in Liverpool and Newcastle (58%) turning to their wives and husbands over accountants. Furthermore, Londoners were the least trusting of bank managers, with only 1% turning to them for clear guidance.

Judi James, one of the UK’s leading behavioral experts, said: “This research from T-Mobile highlights how highly we value those who get to the point and give it to us straight when discussing business issues.

It’s understandable that we tend to turn to our partners for this honest and clear advice – they have the same goals as us and understand the complexities of the possible answers to our problems. Unlike other advisors, they have no hidden agenda and aren’t trying to impress us to secure a contract.”