Political uncertainty seems to be causing a crisis of faith among self-directed investors, according to Findawealthmanager.com.
The online matching service has seen increasing numbers of affluent individuals getting proactive about pension planning.
Analysis of the service’s 15,000 monthly visitors showed a flight away from self-directed investing as geopolitical shocks continue to spring up.
On Monday (1 May) markets saw a middle-of-the-day scare when an off-the-cuff remark by President Donald Trump about breaking up the banks sent markets gyrating for about 14 minutes.
President Trump told Bloomberg News that he was “looking into” reviving the Glass-Steagall Act, a law that kept commercial and investment banks separate.
When Bloomberg reported a break up of big banks was being considered JPMorgan Chase, the biggest US bank by assets, took a nosedive, falling more than 1 per cent in 2 minutes.
| Q1 2017 | |
| Investment | 55% |
| Retirement | 30% |
| Holding Cash | 28% |
| Tax Advice | 25% |
| Planning Family Finances | 24% |
| Unhappy Client | 17% |
| Receiving Money | 12% |
| Borrowing | 4% |
Find a Wealth Manager reported there was been a marked increase in the proportion of high net worth individuals coming to the site to get proactive about their pension plans.
In the first quarter of 2017, 21 per cent of users said they were retired compared to 14 per cent a year before, while the average user age rose from 47.8 to 51.8 years.
In the first three months of the year, 30 per cent of users sought pension guidance, 25 per cent wanted tax advice and 24 per cent requested help with planning family finances.
A poll of why people were using the site also showed shocks had caused a slump in self-directed investing.
Geopolitical uncertainty has prompted a big rise in the proportion of high net worth individuals wanting their investments managed on a discretionary basis.
In the first quarter of 2017, 72 per cent of users wanted to cede decision-making to a professional, compared with 59 per cent a year before.
Uncertainty also seemed to have made high net worth individuals shelve their borrowing plans, with borrowing requests halving to just 4 per cent of users year-on- year.
emma.hughes@ft.com
