Purpose

This paper aims to explore the common ethical decision-making challenges faced by financial advisers and how they meet these challenges. The purpose is to identify successful decision-making tools used by investment advisers in doing business ethically. Additionally, the authors uncover common challenges and offer decision-making tools to provide support for supplemental ethics training in the future.

Design/methodology/approach

Questions were analyzed through a qualitative approach using individual interviews to examine a range of experiences and attitudes of active financial advisers. The sample was represented by 11 practicing financial advisers affiliated with US independent broker-dealers: six women and five men, each with 10 or more years of experience, ranging in age from 35 to 75. Grounded in four ethical decision-making models, this research examines individual ethical decision-making using individual (internal, personal) and organizational (external, situational) factors.

Findings

The method used uncovered struggles and revealed strategies used in making ethical decisions. Two research questions were examined: what are the common ethical decision-making challenges faced by financial advisers in the US financial industry? How do financial advisers handle ethical decision-making challenges? Four themes emerged that impacted ethical decision-making: needs of the individual, needs of others, needs of the firm and needs of the marketplace. Financial advisers identified moral obligation, self-control and consulting with others as major considerations when they contemplate difficult decisions.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation of this review is its small sample size. A more robust sample size from investment advisers with a broader range of experiences could have widened the findings from the study.

Practical implications

Investment advisers can use the findings of this study as a tool for improving their own ethical decision-making or designing training for their employees to be better decision-makers.

Originality/value

The study explores the decision-making experiences of investment advisers to reveal multifaceted, often private struggles that qualitative methods can uncover. The study provides support for the development of additional training in ethical decision-making specific to investment advisers.

中文翻译：

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“亲爱的，你必须做正确的事”：持牌财务顾问的常见道德决策挑战和策略

目的

本文旨在探讨财务顾问面临的常见道德决策挑战以及他们如何应对这些挑战。目的是确定投资顾问在道德经营中使用的成功决策工具。此外，作者还发现了常见的挑战，并提供了决策工具，为未来的补充道德培训提供支持。

设计/方法论/途径

通过个人访谈的定性方法对问题进行分析，以考察活跃财务顾问的一系列经验和态度。样本由隶属于美国独立经纪交易商的 11 名执业财务顾问代表：其中 6 名女性和 5 名男性，每人都拥有 10 年或以上的经验，年龄从 35 岁到 75 岁不等。该样本以四种道德决策模型为基础，研究利用个人（内部、个人）和组织（外部、情境）因素来检验个人道德决策。

发现

该方法揭示了做出道德决策时所使用的斗争和策略。研究了两个研究问题：美国金融业财务顾问面临的常见道德决策挑战是什么？财务顾问如何应对道德决策挑战？出现了影响道德决策的四个主题：个人的需求、他人的需求、公司的需求和市场的需求。财务顾问认为，道德义务、自我控制和与他人协商是他们在考虑困难决策时的主要考虑因素。

研究局限性/影响

本次审查的一个局限性是样本量较小。来自具有更广泛经验的投资顾问的更强大的样本量可能会扩大研究的结果。

实际影响

投资顾问可以利用这项研究的结果作为改进自身道德决策或为员工设计培训以成为更好的决策者的工具。

原创性/价值

该研究探讨了投资顾问的决策经验，以揭示定性方法可以揭示的多方面的、通常是私人的斗争。该研究为针对投资顾问的道德决策制定额外培训提供支持。