Some 12 months on from the start of the pandemic, both investor and IFA confidence have risen significantly, according to research from Opinium.
Compared with April 2020, IFA confidence has risen 20% with some 72% of advisers rating their business as good in April 2021. This optimism was mirrored by investors, with some 64% of those surveyed thinking their investments are in a good state, compared with just 41% in April last year.
Advisers also noted a rise in the number of new investors entering the market in the last year. The survey revealed that of those IFAs who had seen an increase in advice in the last 12 months (48%), some two thirds (65%) said this included new investors, compared with just 12% in April 2020.
Feeling positive
“Given the unrelenting uncertainty of the past year it is encouraging to see confidence among investors and IFAs on the up again,” said Alexa Nightingale, research director at Opinium.
“The entrance of new investors into the market and the increase in demand for advice mirror this feeling of positivity,” she added.
The Opinium survey also showed an increase in ESG investing over the last year, with over two in five (45%) IFAs saying they had started using or increased ESG investing in April 2021, compared with just 33% who said the same 12 months ago.
Meanwhile, in April 2020, one in five investors (20%) said they would start or increase their ESG investing. This was an intention that was stuck to, with 19% of investors saying they have done this in April 2021.
