One in five (20%) people who use Financial Planners or advisers say they are “very concerned” about the prospect of them retiring and a further fifth (26%) say they are “quite concerned”.

They may have good reason as more than a third (35%) of advisers say they plan to retire by the time they turn 50.

The figures have been published today in new research from wealth manager Investec Wealth & Investment (UK). 

The study among 535 UK consumers with stock market-related investments revealed that when their adviser retires, three in five (61%) clients will retain the same firm and use another professional within the company.

Almost a third (31%) said that they will find another adviser for themselves and less than one in 10 (8%) said they will stop using a financial adviser altogether.

The concern over losing their adviser to retirement may be heightened by the fact that 21% of people believe their Financial Planner will retire within the next two years and 41% think this will happen within the next five years. 

Their fears are backed up by other Investec Wealth & Investment research, which surveyed 100 Financial Planners and advisers about their retirement plans, with almost half (49%) stating that they had plans to retire within the next five years.  Around two in five (35%) said they planned to retire by the time they turn 50.

The research showed that men are much more pessimistic about losing their financial adviser than women, with more than half (52%) of men saying they were either “very concerned” or “quite concerned” about the prospect of their adviser retiring, compared to 25% of women.

Nick Vaill, senior investment director at Investec, said: “It is entirely understandable that clients often find themselves worrying about what will happen to their financial investments and affairs when their adviser retires. 

“They are concerned about losing the personal attention and expertise they have come to rely on and are worried that any change in personnel could disrupt the continuity of their investment strategies that have been put in place.”

However, he pointed out that retirement is part of the natural course of life and most financial advisory organisations will have succession plans in place to ensure the smooth transition of a client’s financial assets to another qualified professional.

• Investec Wealth & Investment commissioned independent research agency Viewsbank to interview 535 UK consumers with stock market related investments between 30 June and 3 July 2023.

• Investec Wealth & Investment commissioned independent research agency PureProfile to interview 100 IFAs and Financial Planners across the UK during January 2024.