The overwhelming majority of advisers are confident about the future prospects of the industry, according to a survey by NS&I.
It found 91 per cent of advisers were currently either ‘very confident’ or ‘fairly confident’, according to its Financial Advice Barometer.
This is the highest figure reported in NS&I's barometer since the survey began in February 2016, up six percentage points from 85 per cent in the last survey conducted in July 2017.
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.
Keith Richards, chief executive of the Personal Finance Society, said: "The fact that 91 per cent of advisers are confident about the future prospects for their profession aligns with a parallel growth in consumer confidence, which rose by 40 per cent 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."
The survey also found 86 per cent of advisers give financial advice to their clients’ children or 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 per cent also have trainee financial advisers at their firm that give advice directly to their original client’s children or grandchildren.
The survey also found 98 per cent of advisers provide clients with guidance on cash deposits and most of these, 52 per cent, provide guidance but the client invests in the products themselves.
Meanwhile nearly half - 46 per cent - include cash in their advice proposition as part of their holistic financial planning review with clients.
The October 2017 survey shows the cash deposit product that advisers most frequently recommend is Premium Bonds, at 67 per cent of advisers, with easy access savings accounts one percentage point behind at 66 per cent.
This is the first time that Premium Bonds have been recommended more frequently than cash Isas since the barometer started in February 2016.
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.
For the October 2017 survey, 957 people opened the email and 81 people responded to the survey, giving an 8 per cent response rate.
damian.fantato@ft.com
