Aegon has launched a new digital hub aimed at helping people better understand the emotional aspects of money to improve their overall financial wellbeing.
This is part of its new Money:Mindshift campaign led by financial wellbeing expert Dr. Tom Mathar. The digital hub will offer a podcast series, practical articles, interactive tools and money personality quizzes. The platform helps users understand their own money mindset and how this might influence financial decisions they are making today and for the future. It will also provide personalised wellbeing insights and resources to support financial planning.
At the campaign’s launch yesterday, Aegon chief marketing officer Andy Manson said: “Money:Mindshift is the next step in our journey as Aegon in terms of engaging in this debate about financial wellbeing. Money:Mindshift it’s a platform. There’ll be content, podcasts, events, and all of it is trying to stimulate this debate about how we get people to think differently about money and engage this idea of a long-term mindset and balancing that against the short-term demands of money.”
The event included a panel discussion led by Dr. Thomas Mathar, featuring James Woodfall, founder of Raise Your EI; Alice Tapper, founder of Go Fund Yourself; and Alice Hooper-Scott, director of The School of Life at Work. They explored how financial wellbeing is shaped not just by income or savings, but by emotional intelligence, personal values, and mindset, emphasising the need to overcome shame, build self-awareness, and redefine wealth in more meaningful, individual terms.
Mathar said financial wellbeing is one of the most pressing behavioural challenges people face today. He said: “We live in a point in history where we’ve got to make these massively complex trade-offs between present self and future self. It’s first and foremost a mental challenge.”
The panel also explored how financial discussions are often emotionally charged because many people feel shame and denial about money. Hooper-Scott said people who feel most confident in their finances tend to be “the most invested in deepening it,” while others turn away from financial decisions because of denial or discomfort.
She said it’s important to normalise those emotions and encourage reflection through questions like, “When was the first time you felt ashamed about money?” She said that the shift from denial to curiosity helps people build a healthier relationship with money. Hooper-Scott added: “So many of the things we think are just true of us are not. Believing everyone else has it all figured out is just part of the human condition.”
Meanwhile, Tapper highlighted the importance of timely and clear financial education, saying: “People are more likely to make good decisions when they get education at the point they need it, not just earlier in life. For example, learning about pensions might be more useful when starting your first job rather than at school.”
Building on this, Mathar pointed to Aegon’s research, which shows that those who feel secure about their finances are twice as likely to download the firm’s financial wellbeing app. He said: “It’s counterintuitive. The app was built for those feeling anxious, but they instinctively reject it.”
He added: “This matters for at least two reasons. One is because there are far more people who are anxious than people who are confident. So, there’s a numbers thing. But the other thing is that the app is, of course, there for everybody, especially those who are anxious. And what is interesting here is that if you are having this anxiety, then there is an instinct in you that says, ‘I don’t want anything to do with this.’ It just speaks to the need to understand the emotional side of financial planning.”
Tapper added: “Money is a proxy for a whole lot of other things. It’s a proxy for power, success… beliefs that we inherit.”
Hooper-Scott elaborated on this by highlighting how deeply ingrained these beliefs can be. She said: “At The School of Life, we focus on how childhood scripts shape our money beliefs. People find it hard to talk about money because there’s so much shame tied to it. One thing we try to do is normalise these feelings, so people realise they’re not alone, everyone worries about money and feels a lack of confidence. The key is recognising these scripts and questioning whether they still serve you, which can lead to greater wellbeing.”
But it’s not just clients who could be emotional; advisers are too. Woodfall, a former financial adviser with 15 years’ experience, says advisers need to recognise and manage their own emotions. At Raise Your EI, he and his team train financial professionals in emotional intelligence, helping them manage emotional triggers and understand their clients better.
Woodfall said: “A common source of anxiety is when goals and risks collide, for example, saving for retirement involves uncertainty about many factors. This intersection naturally causes anxiety, which is a universal experience in financial wellbeing for both clients and advisers.”
