Six in 10 clients are failing to understand the Retail Distribution Review a year after it was implemented, a survey of advisers indicates.
Some 60% are uncertain about why changes have been made, while more than three quarters of advisers feel there has been no change in terms of their clients' confidence towards the financial services industry.
The findings come from Fidelity and FundsNetwork research.
Advisers report that just 15% of their clients feel more confident about the financial services industry.
Some 25% of advisers stated that their clients were happier with the previous commission arrangement, but still agreed to move while 35% said that moving to a fee-based structure did not have an impact on their clients who were happy to switch.
{desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile}
Less than 10% of advisers said that they had lost clients in the process of moving into a fee-based world, which equated to less than 15% of their client base.
The survey painted an optimistic picture in some regards, with two thirds of advisers expecting an improvement in their prospects over the next 12 months, with only 10% anticipating decline.
Before RDR over 40% of advisers surveyed thought RDR would hit their business.
Some 23% saw a drop in profits yet 37% of advisers reported to Fidelity that they were trading more profitably than the same time last year.
John Clougherty, head of UK retail at Fidelity, said: "Going forward, the picture looks much better for advisers and their businesses, with an indication that things will pick up over the course of 2014.
"Advisers have also predicted that their numbers will stabilise, if not increase, which hopefully signals some choosing to return to the industry and some new entrants. "Whilst this is encouraging, the industry cannot ignore that more needs to be done to educate the end investor and to help them understand why the way they currently invest is changing."
The independent research canvassed the opinions of over 200 advisers.