Bakgrund: Den finansiella marknaden och dess tjänster har blivit alltmer komplexa under åren. Utbudet av olika produkter som exempelvis olika typer av fonder och aktier har blivit allt större. Det finns idag många olika handelsplattformar för aktier och fonder. Samtidigt som utbudet av komplexa produkter ökar, läggs mer ansvar på individen i exempelvis hantering av premiepension. Det förutsätter att konsumenten är väl informerad och tar rätt beslut. Konsumenten kan välja mellan att ta hjälp av rådgivning eller att sköta investeringar själv. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka privatpersoners motiv gällande val av finansiella tjänster och investeringsbeslut, samt att analysera relationen mellan val av tjänster och sparmål. Genomförande: Sjutton intervjuer har genomförts med anställda på Linköpings universitet. Urvalsgruppen består av lärare av olika slag. Slutsats: Författarna har kommit fram till att det finns många brister hos konsumenten angående finansiella tjänster. Det saknas kunskap och tillräckligt med information, vilket gör att konsumenten inte kan utnyttja dessa tjänster optimalt. Valen av finansiella tjänster är inte alltid relaterade till sparmålen. / Background: The financial market and its services have become more complex during the years. The supply of diverse products, like different types of funds and stocks has steadily increased. Today there are plenty of different trade platforms for stocks and funds. Simultaneously as the supply of complex products is increasing, more responsibility is being placed on the individual, which can be seen in the Swedish premium pension. This assumes that the consumer is well informed and makes the right decisions. The consumer can choose between obtaining help from counseling, or handling the investments alone. Aim: The aim of this thesis is to examine consumers’ motives behind choices of financial services and investment decisions, and to analyze the relation between choice of financial services and goals for saving. Implementation: Seventeen interviews have been conducted with employees at the Linköping University. The selected group consists of teachers with different positions. Result: The writers conclude that the consumers fall short, regarding financial services. They lack knowledge and enough information. The result is that consumers cannot utilize these services in an optimal way. The choices of financial services are not always related to the goals of saving.

The purpose of this research study was to identify, from the perception of realtors, how prepared first-time homebuyers (FTHBs) are when purchasing a home and to discover what kind of issues and problems arose during the home-buying process. This study also identified common factors used by realtors to identify: how FTHBs are prepared, usefulness of FTHB workshops, FTHBs' mortgage knowledge, and recommendations to better prepare FTHBs. The goal was twofold: identify areas in the home-buying process where FTHBs are less prepared and provide information to financial educators and real estate agents to help fill the gap in FTHB preparedness. This study covered three main areas of buying a home: pre-purchase preparedness, mortgage finance, and the closing process. Data for this study were collected using an online survey emailed to realtors in the Cache Rich Association of Realtors (CRAR) in Northern Utah. A total of 66 realtors responded to the survey. Descriptive statistics, matched pair t tests, correlations, and simple regression analyses were used. Overall, realtors find their FTHB clients to be less than somewhat prepared. This is evident when the mean percentage of FTHBs that realtors stated were well-prepared for homeownership was only 44.4%. According to realtors' perceptions, many FTHBs did not have their personal finances in order and poorly understood the cost of obtaining a mortgage and its process. The analysis of the data collected from realtors' responses also identified the most frequent problem or issue that arose during the home-buying process was obtaining a mortgage. When asked if FTHB workshops are useful, 60% of realtors perceived them to be more than somewhat useful. Reasons for their usefulness included being educational, beneficial, and preparing FTHBs for buying a home. Results also indicated that the level of mortgage knowledge and knowledge about housing sustainability directly related to the level of pre-purchase preparedness of FTHBs as perceived by realtors. When pre-purchase preparedness levels were low, mortgage knowledge and knowledge about housing sustainability levels were also perceived to be low. In the end, realtors offered their suggestions on how to better prepare FTHBs for homeownership and their answer to this question was to have FTHBs work with a qualified realtor and network of professionals. The second most frequent response was to educate FTHBs on affordability and housing sustainability.

The purposes of this study were to describe and categorize the types of clients seeking reverse mortgage counseling, and to document the growth in demand for reverse mortgage counseling from one counseling center: The USU Family Life Center - Housing and Financial Counseling Services (FLC HFC). A second purpose was to gain a better understanding of the reasons why more senior Americans are seeking reverse mortgages. A third purpose was to gain a better understanding of the retirement preparedness of current seniors seeking reverse mortgages, which could lead to improved counseling services, early retirement intervention awareness, and encourage increased pre-retirement preparation. Information was collected from 361 inactive reverse mortgage counseling files at the FLC HFC. A subset of 117 more recent and complete files was used to describe, categorize, and gain greater understanding of the clients seeking reverse mortgage counseling, their reasons for considering a reverse mortgage, and their retirement preparation. Descriptive statistics, crosstabs, ANOVAS, and frequency tables were used. Clientele were mostly Caucasian, married, and retired, and their mean age was 74 for males and 72 for females. Average annual income per client household was $29,483, ranging from $7,860 to $92,400. Most clients were mortgagors compared to homeowners with the most common reason for seeking a reverse mortgage to pay off an existing mortgage followed by increasing income. Slightly more than half (51.4%) did not obtain a reverse mortgage; of those who did, 85.7% received all or some of their funds as a lump sum. This study was unique in that it analyzed clients seeking counseling for a reverse mortgage rather than just the borrowers who originated a reverse mortgage. It also looked at their reasons for seeking the reverse mortgage. Younger clients were more likely to desire to pay off an existing forward mortgage; older clients were more likely to need increased income. The practical significance of the study's findings can be used to encourage the preparation of near-retirement adults and to encourage senior mortgagors to carefully plan the use of funds received from a reverse mortgage leading to an increase in the financial well-being of seniors.

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