A lack of time and resource was also a reason why many advisers could not take on lower-value clients (see the image, below). Time and resource restraints was top of the list at 36 per cent, followed by profitability concerns at 34 per cent. Regulation came in third, at 20 per cent.
Only 5 per cent of advisers said they simply did not want to serve lower-value clients.
The report said: "Very few advisers said that they didn’t want to serve more lower value clients.
"Instead, lack of time, the potential impact to overall profitability and concerns about inadvertently crossing a regulatory boundary are cited as the main reasons not to offer services to individuals with less money to invest."
One way to improve technology and help advisers serve more clients might be to simplify the range of tools and providers, the report suggested, especially as the vast majority of respondents claimed they have been using tech more during the Covid-19 lockdown, and would continue to operate a hybrid approach in future.
Positive overall
However, despite these challenges and changes brought about by the pandemic, the survey presented a positive picture overall.
In the executive summary, the report stated: "Advisers are facing into the future with confidence. Many advisers, particularly younger advice professionals, express a degree of confidence that client numbers will increase in the years ahead, and our report suggests that the Covid pandemic has driven consumers towards financial advice."
Moreover, eight out of 10 individuals working for financial advice firms would recommend financial planning as a career, which demonstrates the industry’s overall confidence in the future.
Women financial planners are especially engaged, with 88 per cent of respondents recommending financial planning as a career. Siadatan added: "Often the rhetoric is that everything is hard and challenging, and regulation makes it difficult.
"But when we asked if advisers would recommend this as a career to other people, the high responses were really positive and encouraging.
"If we can promote financial planning more and encourage even more people to come into the industry, that can only be a good thing. And I think you would be hard-pressed to get 80 per cent or more people recommending their profession as a career in any other field."
The research was carried out in the summer of 2021, via an online report of 348 financial advice professionals who are among Dynamic Planner's adviser client base.
simoney.kyriakou@ft.com
