Wednesday, 09 January 2013 10:19
Financial advice sector needs to persuade consumers of its value
AXA Wealth has said that financial services has a lot more work to do before it is valued by consumers in the same way as other fee-paying professions.
Research by the firm found that 64 per cent of consumers saw the value in receiving financial advice but this was far lower than the 87 per cent of people who valued advice from a solicitor.
Lack of trust in financial advisers and not wanting to pay for something that wasn't tangible were the most popular reasons for not wanting to pay for advice.
Andy Zanelli, head of retirement planning at AXA Wealth, said: "Now more than ever advisers need to demonstrate how they add value to the process and just why there is no substitute for professional financial advice, especially in these turbulent times.
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"Our research raises interesting questions around the value judgements consumers make in paying for professional advice. Solicitors score very highly, perhaps because the outcome from their services is tangible and immediately noticeable.
"Financial advice does not work in the same way and it is very difficult to persuade people that professional guidance, while not presenting an immediate pay off, will have a distinct long-term benefit.
"The work our profession has done to ensure it is RDR-ready is a great start but there is clearly a lot more work to do."
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Research by the firm found that 64 per cent of consumers saw the value in receiving financial advice but this was far lower than the 87 per cent of people who valued advice from a solicitor.
Lack of trust in financial advisers and not wanting to pay for something that wasn't tangible were the most popular reasons for not wanting to pay for advice.
Andy Zanelli, head of retirement planning at AXA Wealth, said: "Now more than ever advisers need to demonstrate how they add value to the process and just why there is no substitute for professional financial advice, especially in these turbulent times.
{desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile}
"Our research raises interesting questions around the value judgements consumers make in paying for professional advice. Solicitors score very highly, perhaps because the outcome from their services is tangible and immediately noticeable.
"Financial advice does not work in the same way and it is very difficult to persuade people that professional guidance, while not presenting an immediate pay off, will have a distinct long-term benefit.
"The work our profession has done to ensure it is RDR-ready is a great start but there is clearly a lot more work to do."
• Want to receive a free weekly summary of the best news stories from our website? Just go to home page and submit your name and email address. If you are already logged in you will need to log out to see the e-newsletter sign up. You can then log in again.
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