Over half of advisers feel under pressure to offer advice to clients on issues over and above their finances, with four in ten confessing their relationships are merely ‘average’.

The findings, from a survey by BrightHR, showed 41 per cent confessing that their overall relationship with their clients was ‘average’ and three per cent said it was ‘purely transactional’.

Some 26 per cent of advisers described their client relationships as ‘strong’, while 30 per cent said their working relationships was ‘good but they would like it to better’.

The management software company’s survey found the majority were willing to offer more to improve client relationships and attract new business, but some 27 per cent are reluctant.

Dr David Fraser, who has helped create a new report on the importance of positive client relationships, said: “It’s surprising to learn that such a large proportion of financial advisers are admitting their client relationships were not what they could be.

“The awareness of the issue is encouraging because it hasn’t always been recognised. The survey clearly shows many businesses realise they need to prioritise time with clients and prospective clients but struggle to free up the capacity to do that.”

Paul Tooth, co-founder and CEO of BrightHR said: “In general, the financial advisors we spoke to felt under pressure to offer more than financial advice and despite the fact they thought it could potentially improve client relationships, some one in five were unwilling to do so.”

Over a quarter of respondents said they thought that offering a more rounded service would strengthen client relationships.

Providing property advice (26 per cent), employment law advice (25 per cent) and business software solutions (21 per cent), they said, would benefit clients most.

Yet while some advisers are already looking at extending their services (15 per cent) or have said they will definitely look into doing so (53 per cent), a further 27 per cent said they wouldn’t look at that option or it wouldn’t be beneficial to them.

When asked what the best way was to strengthen the all-important client relationship, respondetns said it was having a thorough understanding of what their client wanted, helping them become more financially organised, being able to offer a wider service and sharing their knowledge set.

The biggest obstacles to achieving these things were the lack of time to meet clients face-to-face (53 per cent), too much admin and paperwork to get through (26 per cent), understanding ever-changing technology (11 per cent) and poor communication skills (10 per cent).