Sinaye Akhumzi Mtimba
Abstract
Globally, the middle-income household has been the fastest growing segment in the market for financial advice. This trend has been reflected in South Africa, as seen by an increase in the black middle-class population but despite that it has remained underserved. This study aimed, therefore, to investigate the factors that influence middle-income black South African professionals’ intention to seek financial planning assistance in the Eastern Cape Province. There is a distinct lack of academic literature done on the middle-income black South African professionals in relation to financial planning. This study explored the views of the middle-income black South African professionals on six factors, namely, attitude, awareness, family financial norms, financial self-efficacy, perceived rewards, and trust. Statistical analyses including assessing validity and reliability, descriptive statistics, Pearson’s product moment correlation and multiple regression analysis were undertaken. Based on the results, the study showed a significant relationship between the independent variables: attitude, awareness and perceived rewards and the dependent variable, intention to seek financial planning assistance. The research therefore present conclusions and recommendations to provide a wider reach to the middle-income black South African professionals and improving financial education as well as how financial service providers can improve value added service.