Over the past few weeks, Good Returns has been encouraging advisers to take a 15-minute survey to help understand the current state of mental health of Kiwi financial advisers.

The Adviser Wellbeing Research is being conducted by Sydney-based researcher Dr Adam Fraser, founder of The e-lab, and Dr John Molineux.

AIA NZ is sponsoring the research and will make the findings available to the industry when complete with the survey running until October 10.

Dr Fraser and Dr Molineux undertook a similar research project in Australia earlier this year, which was a first-of-its-kind study into Australian financial adviser wellbeing.

Key findings showed poor levels of mental and physical health among financial advisers with 73% saying they had high levels of burnout from stress, 67% experienced some level of depression and 61% had poor sleep due to stress.

However, the study also looked at who is thriving in the industry and how they manage to stay productive and positive.

"What do they do with their time and what are their behaviours?", asks Dr Fraser.

He says one of the things they discovered in the Australian survey was thriving advisers were just as frustrated by change and by regulatory shifts as others.

"But it was much more about how they didn't let that frustration run their behaviour and consume them...they still focussed on how do I respond to that and what is best for my business."

AIA NZ's chief partnership insurance officer Sam Tremethick says people deal with change differently, "but it is change you can control versus change that's been imposed upon you".

"Some people will be thriving in this environment because they see change as an opportunity, others will be overwhelmed," he says.

The Australian Financial Advisers Wellbeing Report 2021 uncovered a cohort who were growing their businesses, enjoying the work, had strong wellbeing, mental health and work-life balance.

This group has been referred to as the "Thrivers".

"They were incredibly involved in industry support, they networked, they had other advisers around them that they used as sounding boards - they almost coached each other and supported each other through this change," Dr Fraser says.

"They also focused on the key parts of their business and spent a lot of their time there. Compliance and regulatory work were outsourced to people skilled in that area."

Thrivers did not have a common characteristic such as age, level of education, length of experience as an adviser, location or gender.

The report found Thrivers had the following characteristics that separated them from the broader group.

1. Psychological flexibility: Our initial hypothesis was that the Thrivers would have a different (most likely more positive) story and emotional response to the challenge than the people who were struggling.

2. Psychological capital: The psychological capital (confidence/efficacy, hope, resilience and optimism) scores were much higher for the Thrivers, which means they have a greater skill set when it comes to dealing with challenges and setbacks.

3. Adaptive performance: The Thrivers were much more adaptable than the broader group and as such can rapidly alter their behaviour to suit a rapidly changing environment.

4. Prioritise wellbeing: The Thrivers were very good at prioritising and looking after their own wellbeing. They often engaged in physical activity, mindfulness and relaxation, turned off at the end of the day, debriefed and sought support from others.

5. Leveraged their time: Thrivers spent less time in administration and far less on compliance activities and thus were able to devote more time to client meetings, new business and developing themselves and others.

6. Engaged in industry support: The Thrivers saw the value in being an active financial adviser in the adviser community. The benefits ranged from having someone to vent to, getting fresh insights into challenges they were facing and discussing ideas and different perspectives that drove innovation.

"There was a lot to learn from the habits and behaviours of this standout group and many of them hold the key to having a sustained career as a financial adviser," the report states.