Your IndustryFeb 25 2015

Clients value holistic financial planning: Vanguard

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Clients value holistic financial planning: Vanguard

A new survey has revealed that advisers’ clients value holistic financial planning above investment returns, with two thirds of clients believing they are paying for more than investment performance.

According to Vanguard’s annual adviser index, considerably more clients acknowledge that they are paying for help in defining or articulating their goals (46 per cent), developing a plan (54 per cent) and monitoring their goals and plans (55 per cent).

The findings also showed that while investment returns are an important measure of value for clients, only 36 per cent of advised clients believe that they are paying just for investment performance.

The research was conducted via on-line survey with 753 participants during October and November last year. The respondents all work with an adviser in some capacity, made or contributed to the financial decisions within the household and met specific household asset criteria.

When asked about trust advisers and their industry, 83 per cent of clients provided a high or very high trust rating for their adviser - up from 77 per cent in the last edition - while trust in the overall industry has also improved, rising from 22 per cent to 29 per cent during the same period.

In terms of loyalty, 87 per cent of clients said they were somewhat or extremely likely to continue working with their adviser, up from 81 per cent a year ago.

Neil Cowell, head of UK retail sales for Vanguard, said he believes the Retail Distribution Review has encouraged advisers to continue to enhance their value propositions.

“We found that clients, who perceive their relationships with their advisers as high value, are more likely to be familiar with the changes associated with the RDR, than those who perceive their relationships with their advisers as low value.”

peter.walker@ft.com