Examining Anxiety as an Additional Antecedent to Trust and Commitment in Financial Planning

Abstract Drawing on Morgan and Hunt’s (1994) theory of trust and commitment, this study extends prior research by examining financial anxiety as an antecedent to trust and relationship commitment in client-planner relationships. Survey data from 430 financial planning clients were analyzed using path modeling. Results generally supported the trust and commitment framework within financial planning ( χ 2 (3) = 11.310, p = .01; RMSEA = .08; CFI = .993; TLI = .970; SRMR = .014). Communication abilities ( β = .14, p = .001) and the absence of opportunistic behavior ( β = .10, p = .001) were positively associated with trust, while shared values were significantly associated with trust ( β = .37, p < .001) and commitment ( β = .20, p < .001). Trust was positively associated with relationship commitment ( β = .35, p < .001). Extending the original framework, relationship benefits were positively associated with both trust ( β = .27, p < .001) and commitment ( β = .22, p < .001), indicating that perceived value may shape client-planner relationships more broadly than previously theorized. Notably, financial anxiety exhibited direct negative associations with both trust ( β = −.17, p < .001) and commitment ( β = −.12, p < .001), even after accounting for established relational antecedents. These findings suggest that clients’ psychological experiences play an important role in client-planner relationships and provide additional insight into the application of trust and commitment theory within financial planning contexts.