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A specialist training provider has teamed up with a national charity to devise and distribute educational tools for finance professionals whose clients are living with dementia.
Kaplan Professional’s CPD platform Ontrack, now contains content and interviews provided by Dementia Australia. The materials are designed specifically for finance professionals to enhance their ability to help people living with the illness.
The initial phase of the partnership includes specialist articles delivered through Ontrack to help finance professionals understand the impact the condition can have on those living with it, as well as their families and carers.
Nearly 27,000 people have viewed the first article since it was published in April and more than 600 have completed the assessment.
Kaplan Professional CEO Brian Knight said, “Given one in 10 people over the age of 65 and three in 10 over the age of 85 live with dementia, financial advisers have a high probability that a number of their existing clients are living with dementia – or caring for someone with dementia.
“As the number of Australians diagnosed with dementia is also predicted to grow considerably in the future, it is in the public’s best interest that there is a wider understanding amongst financial advisers because it does not just affect the person living with the condition, it impacts the wider family too.
“The figures suggest many more Australians and their families are going to need the specialist advice of a financial adviser who is not only aware of the impacts, but has the confidence and knowledge to support their client,” he added.
Dementia Australia’s executive director of business development Leanne Emerson, said people living with dementia need the same support and understanding as anyone seeking financial advice, and, importantly, from advisors who understand the impact of dementia.
“It is important professional financial advisers have the confidence and knowledge to support clients who are living with dementia and their families, and that they understand their client’s needs and concerns about their financial independence and capacity to support themselves and families, now and in the future,” she commented.
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