Financial educators and financial coaches are seeing a boom in their business as financial coaching appears set to overtake financial planning as people demand more then just commission based advice which is very often seen as – and later proven to be – conflicted and expensive.

Financial coaching is a value added service and is about empowerment motivation and education rather then just relying on often flawed advice from a financial planner who is entirely dependent on commissions.

21st Century Education provides financial coaching and has more than 25 contracted financial educators and turned over $30million in the last financial year and is on track to be a $50million business this year.

21st Century Education Chairman and founder Jamie Mcintyre says the government has told people for years that there won’t be a pension to rely on in retirement. “You need to become a self-funded retiree. This means everyone has to become an investor, yet no one was taught about financial education and self empowerment at school.”

According to McIntyre even ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) asks the wrong question. “How do we get more people to see a financial planner?”

The correct question according to Mcintyre should be, “How do we get more Australians to be empowered to take charge of their financial future?”

There is this huge demand for people to be financially educated and empowered and unfortunately financial planners have so far failed to fill this gap McIntyre says. In the near future he is confident financial coaches and financial educators will be utilising self empowerment strategies that take more and more of the traditional financial planning business slice unless financial planners shift to the provision of more education and empowerment, rather then just commission based advice and selling managed funds.

Consumers want more than that McIntyre said when he explained why he founded 21st Century Education, a personal services and financial group that employs nearly 100 people and has doubled in size in the last year. The reason for founding his successful 21st Century Education business, McIntyre said, was to provide a financial education to people who should have received that education as part of their schooling.

It is also why he wrote his first book What I didn’t learn at school but wish I had, which has been distributed to over 250,000 Australians. To assist with his goal of a financial education for all Australians, McIntyre gives this book away for free on his company website www.21stcenturyacademy.com despite it selling in bookstores for $35.

McIntyre became a self made millionaire by getting a financial education many years ago and said he doesn’t need the book royalties and has just committed to donating up to $1million worth of copies of his books to be given away over the next 5 years to assist in providing an education he strongly believes we all should have received at school.

One of Jamie McIntyre’s greatest passions has been to create an educational system that is designed for the 21st Century as opposed to an outdated education most of us received at school so we can create an extraordinary quality of life that most people only dream about.

McIntyre believes people’s dreams can come true, just like they did for him, once he learnt the information he shares in his book, What I didn’t learn from my financial planner but wish I had This book provides an education for life and explains what it takes to create the necessary financial abundance to have an extraordinary quality of life.

McIntyre is appalled that superannuation nest eggs have taken a hit after funds recorded their worst annual return since 1987 of minus 6 per cent. The higher cost of living has also forced more workers to curb their voluntary contributions, leading super experts to warn these people now risk missing out on any upswing in returns when the sharemarket recovers.

In early July 2008, figures from the independent research company SuperRatings revealed returns on the median balanced super fund shrank by 6 percent over the year. On a typical balance of $50,000, this represents a $3000 hit, not including contributions made during the year.

The Federal Government is expected to come under renewed pressure to ensure the adequacy of retirement savings, with several members of its super advisory panel stating this should be the highest priority.

Note: Jamie McIntyre is currently authorised to provide general advice and dealing services in Derivatives, Deposit Products, Managed Investments and Securities (ASIC No. 321 315).

21st Century Education have a range of books by Jamie McIntyre available, including:
What I didn’t learn at school but wish I had
What I didn’t learn from my real estate agent but wish I had
What I didn’t learn from my financial planner but wish I had
What I didn’t learn from Google but wish I had

These books are available from good bookshops or from:
www.21stcenturypublishing.com.au

Jamie McIntyre
CEO 21st Century Academy