Financial advisor ‘changes methods’ for neurodivergent people | Personal Finance | Finance

Estimates suggest that somewhere between 15% to 20% of people in the UK are neurodivergent, encompassing conditions such as autism, ADHD and dyslexia. That amounts to millions of individuals who, on any given day, are receiving financial guidance through the same methods and channels as those who are not neurodivergent.

It is precisely this issue that one financial expert, who has spent the past four years studying neurodivergence, believes is deeply problematic. Nouran Moustafa, an IFA at Roxton Wealth, who was last week named Defaqto financial adviser of the year at the age of just 24, argues that financial services have repeatedly failed to acknowledge that not everybody thinks alike or processes information in the same manner.

She contends that advice is far too frequently delivered in the same traditional fashion — namely through text-heavy documents dispatched via email or post, or lengthy catch-up meetings, whether conducted face-to-face or via video call. That, she insists, must change.

Nouran said: “We now know that a significant number of people are neurodivergent. For example, people with ADHD will often have shorter attention spans, while those with dyslexia may take longer to process information, especially lengthy financial explainers and risk warnings. Despite this, neurodivergent people will often receive advice on major financial decisions such as their mortgage, investments and pensions in ways that are just not suited to how their brains work.”

Nouran explained that when working with neurodivergent clients, she tailored her methods individually: “For example, if someone has ADHD, I’ll break down a meeting that would normally take an hour into three chunks of 20 minutes. That way, they’re less likely to lose interest and risk making decisions when they have not fully taken on board the information being presented to them.

“Equally, with dyslexic clients, I will often simplify the correspondence with them, or send them personal video explainers or visuals alongside documents that are text-heavy or really important. That helps them look at the information in a way that can be more easily digested.

“As I see it, if someone’s not receiving information, or being communicated with, in a way that works for them, that’s not financial advice, it’s a transaction.

“And that’s where things can start to go wrong. It’s something that I think the whole financial services industry needs to take more seriously moving forward.”

Nouran urged those with neurodivergent conditions to question their adviser, be it a mortgage broker or wealth manager, about what provisions they offer to deliver guidance suited to individual requirements.

She said: “I think this is an important point to raise for anyone who is neurodivergent. If you’re making important financial decisions, you need to ensure you are receiving information in a way that works for you.

“Otherwise, you may not be making the right decisions and that’s a worry.”