A survey of 200 users of Intelliflo’s Intelligent Office during December revealed that advisers were optimistic that 2019 would see them increase business and recruit more staff.

Asked to rank what they saw as their biggest opportunities for the year ahead, taking on new clients via recommendations came out top, with staff expansion coming in second and growing through acquisition coming third.

What do you believe represents the biggest opportunities for your business in 2019?

1. Growing the business through existing clients recommending new clients (word of mouth)
2. Recruiting staff
3. Growing the business through acquisition
4. Regulation
5. Robo advice
6. Merging with another firm

The firm says the results reflect the opportunities they experienced during 2018, highlighting how important recommendations from existing clients are for growth.

What have been the biggest opportunities for your business in 2018?

1. Existing clients recommending new clients (word of mouth)
2. Staff expansion
3. Regulation
4. Robo advice
5. Merging with another firm
6. Selling your business

Asked what they saw as their biggest challenges for 2019, regulation was top of the list, with cyber security second.

Recruiting staff was a close third, which Intelliflo says highlights the pressures on the industry to find quality candidates to fill vacancies.

Reaching for your crystal ball, what will be the biggest challenges your business will face in 2019?

1. Regulation
2. Cyber security
3. Recruiting staff
4. Robo advice

Nick Eatock, Intelliflo’s founder and executive chairman, said: “It’s interesting that regulation is seen as both an opportunity and a challenge for businesses but it highlights the resilience of advisers and their ability to turn what might seem like a negative into a positive.

“GDPR is a good case in point, with many finding the work they had to do to meet the new regulation in 2018 paying dividends in terms of the service they provide to their customers.”

Regulation was ranked the number one challenge for 2018, with almost three quarters (72%) of those taking part in the survey ranking it as top.

In a similar survey in December 2017, regulation was cited as the most pressing concern for the year ahead, with ‘complying with MiFID II’ and ‘being ready for GDPR by May 2018’ being ranked first and second.

What have been the biggest challenges for your business in 2018?

1. Regulation
2. Cyber security
3. Recruiting staff
4. Robo advice
5. Merging with another firm
6. Selling your business

Although ‘selling your business’ was offered as an option, just 1% of the sample ranked it as their number one concern, indicating that almost all of those taking part were focused on retaining their business over the coming year.

Mr Eatock added: “With so much uncertainty around Brexit and the impact this will have on the future, it’s great to see advisers are optimistic about their own businesses.

“We know from our analysis of how our customers are using technology, those who embrace it fully are the ones who are reaping the most rewards in terms of business growth and I’m confident that our adviser partners will continue to enjoy success during 2019.”