New research from St. James’s Place Asia highlights the social behaviours that shape our money decisions, revealing that more than one third of social media conversations about money mentioning parents, children and spouses contain negative sentiment.
The research, titled How We Talk About Money, analysed social media conversations about money and interviewed retail investors and SJP Asia Partners in Hong Kong and Singapore[1]. It found that family discussions about money can stir emotions, often negative ones.
The inaugural report also reveals that people tend to build circles of trust about money, with many people more open with close family and spouses or life partners as well as trusted financial advisors than their friends and romantic partners, and the challenges faced by individuals bombarded by information on social media.
Conversations with family can be emotional
While people tend to be more open with family about money, intimate conversations about money can provoke strong emotions. More than one third of conversations on social media that mention parents (34%), children (37%), and spouses (42%) contain negative sentiment, reflecting that conversations about financial plans are highly personal.
Several interviewees expressed caution about money discussions with family, particularly younger interviewees from more traditional Asian families, who said they avoided talking about spending and higher-risk investments. Expats meanwhile expressed a reluctance to disclose information about their wealth and salaries to friends and family back home due to differences in financial status.
Due to the complex emotional nature of money discussions with friends and family, some people turn to professional advisers for objective guidance. However, misconceptions about financial advice, such as the belief it is only for high-net-worth individuals, remain prevalent online, and advisers note that full transparency was dependent on building trust, which often takes time.
Investors are bombarded with information about money decisions
Our interviews reveal that people feel overwhelmed with the amount of information presented to them about money decisions, impacting their comfort to talk about money topics.
Influencers, social media, and even the news media are consumed with scepticism. This can lead to misconceptions about information from trusted sources such as professional financial advisers. Our social media analysis found that posts about lotteries and get-rich schemes get nearly ten times the engagement on social media as traditional media articles on financial management, highlighting the need for investors to be careful with information sources.
Despite the omnipresent influence of social media in our lives, celebrity influencers were not a common source of information for investors. Most people do not try to emulate celebrity investors, as their lifestyles are often seen as too detached from their personal circumstances.
Overall, our interviewees express a preference for relatable, personalised, and trustworthy financial planning strategies over information from media and social media.
Retirement the main reason people talk about money
Achieving financial independence or freedom is a consistent theme people are drawn to, and generated the greatest number of mentions within the overall discussion of financial goals, social media monitoring shows.
Within broader online conversations around money, retirement is a leading topic, generating more than 12,000 mentions across all audiences over the past year. Our social media analysis and interviews show that people link retirement with financial freedom and lifestyle flexibility. Increasingly, people see retirement as a new chapter in their lives after permanent formal employment rather than an end goal.
Joel Carpenter, Chief Executive Officer at St. James’s Place Singapore, said: “Sitting down to discuss your financial plans and goals is a vital step on the road to financial prosperity, yet in Singapore, complex social and family dynamics can often prevent full and frank conversations. How We Talk About Money emphasises how important it is to have an independent, trusted confidant to guide people through their wealth journeys. Professional, personalised financial advice can play a vital role in helping people secure financial security.”
