The role of financial literacy in describing the use of professional financial advisors before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This paper documents the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of profession financial advisors across a broad sample of financial decision makers (N = 16,431). Findings show that financial literacy played a significant role in describing the use of financial advisors in the USA before and during the pandemic. Those who exhibited higher levels of financial literacy were more likely to use the services of professional financial advisors. Based on a series of regression tests, it was determined that the effect of COVID-19 on the use of financial advisors was, to some extent, moderated by financial literacy.