NS&I survey shows confidence in advice industry at all time high

This is the highest figure reported in NS&I’s Financial Advice Barometer since the survey began in February 2016, up six percentage points from 85% in the last survey conducted in July 2017.

• Almost half of advisers now include cash in their holistic financial planning with clients
• Premium Bonds now most popular type of cash product
• Advisers reveal views on advice to children of clients

The findings suggest the reasons for this confidence include the increasing complexity of financial markets and products; an ageing population; and a greater need for advice with fewer regulated advisers to do so. Over-regulation and the burden of compliance are again the drivers of the few ‘not very confident’ responses.

Other key findings in this edition of NS&I’s Financial Advice Barometer are:

Almost half of advisers now include cash in their holistic financial planning with clients

98% of advisers provide clients with guidance on cash deposits. The majority of these, 52%, provide guidance but the client invests in the products themselves, while nearly half (46%) include cash in their advice proposition as part of their holistic financial planning review with clients.

Premium Bonds now most popular type of cash product

The October 2017 survey shows that the cash deposit product that advisers most frequently recommend is Premium Bonds, at 67% of advisers, with easy access savings accounts one percentage point behind at 66%.

This is the first time that Premium Bonds have been recommended more frequently than cash ISAs since the Financial Advice Barometer started in February 2016.

Advisers reveal views on advice to children of clients

The survey revealed 86% of advisers give financial advice to their clients’ children/grandchildren. Of this group, most of these provide the advice to their original client for them to pass on and around a third give advice directly to the children. A further 3% also have trainee financial advisers at their firm that give advice directly to their original client’s children/grandchildren.

Keith Richards, Chief Executive of the Personal Finance Society, commented:

“The fact that 91% of advisers are confident about the future prospects for their profession aligns with a parallel growth in consumer confidence, which rose by 40% in the three years to 2016.

“The profession’s commitment to raising standards and improving public perception, coupled with the introduction of pension freedoms, means that more people than ever are seeking out and benefitting from the expertise of a highly qualified and experienced personal finance adviser.”

Keith Richards, Chief Executive of the Personal Finance Society

Notes to Editors

1. NS&I’s Financial Advice Barometer is conducted by sending emails to around 4,000 financial advisers each quarter who are either registered on the Unbiased email mailing list or on the NS&I database. Respondents are entered into a prize draw for a chance to win an iPad mini.
2. For the October 2017 survey, 957 people opened the email and 81 people responded to the survey, giving an 8% response rate.
3. 40% rise in consumer confidence source, see CII-PFS Survey Report: ’Confidence in Financial Advice’
4. NS&I’s Financial Advice Barometer asks a series of financial advice market tracker questions each quarter to build-up a picture over time of how trends within the financial advice market change, including advisers’ sentiment towards cash, how it is used within client portfolios and advisers’ views on the wider cash deposit market. Each quarter, a one-off topical question is also asked.
5. NS&I is one of the largest savings organisations in the UK, offering a range of savings and investments to 25 million customers. All products offer 100% capital security, because NS&I is backed by HM Treasury.
6. For further information, please contact the NS&I media team.