In contrast to the 48% of advisers with a growth profile, only 18% identified their businesses as having contracted.
The in-depth report, which this year almost exclusively covers financial advisers based permanently in the UAE because of office closures in Qatar, also found that opinion was divided about the opportunity of new regulation.
Around 40% of advisers saw regulations as an opportunity, and a similar number as a threat.
Nigel Sillitoe, chief executive of Insight Discovery, said: ‘Things were rather grim last year, and we entitled the report ‘The Year of Reckoning’. At that time, 63% of advisers saw client engagement – or lack of it – as a threat. Only 18% saw it as an opportunity.”
Despite the concerns of 2016 and against the backdrop of impending regulatory changes, advisers continue to meet the expectations of increasingly sophisticated and demanding clients, he said.
“Regulatory change has been a front of mind topic for advisers since we began our reports back in 2010. It is very encouraging that the numbers of optimists and pessimists are evenly balanced, and that advisers have been able to cope with the rising costs associated with regulatory change.
“Despite these changes it would appear that focusing on meeting client needs has been the key success strategy that has delivered growth against the backdrop of a tougher environment.”
Other key findings from the survey include:
- Over 40% of advisers have increased usage of life protection and general insurance offerings.
- Advisers are pessimistic about the wider geopolitical environment.
- The majority of advisers are looking to increase clients’ allocations to developed markets equities and emerging markets equities.
