Half of financial advisers think their clients will be worse off this year compared to 2022.
According to Opinium Research carried out between January 24-26, when looking ahead to the rest of the year, over three quarters (77 per cent) of IFAs think that high inflation and the cost-of-living crisis will have the biggest impact on their clients.
This was followed by market volatility impacting returns from investments (49 per cent) and uncertainty in the housing market and with mortgage rates (39 per cent).
However, a third (32 per cent) of IFAs think their clients will be better off this year.
Alexa Nightingale, head of financial services research at Opinium, said: “As interest rates are predicted to hit levels not seen since the 2008 financial crisis, it’s no surprise that a majority of financial advisers expect their clients to suffer financially this year.
“There are a range of factors impacting finances, from high inflation and the cost-of-living, to tax allowance cuts, and advisers will have to navigate their clients through all of this in 2023.”
The research, which surveyed 209 IFAs, also revealed that almost a third (31 per cent) believe the cuts to capital gains tax allowance will have an impact, and 16 per cent think cuts to dividend tax allowance will affect their clients too.
A fifth (20 per cent) expect higher interest on savings accounts to have a big impact on their clients.
sonia.rach@ft.com
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