Most people who do not work with a financial advisor only plan their finances on a short-term basis, rather than a long-term one, but the ranks of those with long-term plans are growing, according to a new study.

Seventy-one percent of those without a planner only look one year ahead or less, according to the deVere Group, an independent financial advisory firm, in a study on financial planning released Thursday. The remainder were planning their finances for more than a year.

When people were polled two years ago, 82 percent of respondents were looking only one year ahead. DeVere polled 648 adults globally for the survey.

“It is encouraging that this poll finds that people appear to be increasingly planning their finances for the longer-term,” says Nigel Green, the firm's CEO and founder. “However, it is alarming indeed that still seven out of 10 people across all ages, income brackets and nationalities who are without a financial advisor are exclusively thinking about their finances in the near term.

“It is almost universally recognized that longer-term financial planning makes it easier to reach your financial objectives -- which for most of us is financial security -- because you have more time and considerably more opportunities,” Green says. “With a longer-term perspective, your plan acts as a road map for the continual growth and development of your financial affairs.”