The key data on why financial advice adds value
By Mark Battersby, 24 Aug 17
Those who received financial advice in the 2001-2007 period had accumulated significantly more liquid financial assets and pension wealth than their unadvised equivalent peers by 2012-14, a report by the UK think tank International Longevity Centre supported by Royal London has found.
After controlling for a range of factors, ‘The Value of Financial Advice’ concludes that the two most powerful driving forces of whether people sought advice was whether the individual trusts an IFA to provide advice, and the individual’s level of financial capability.
Therefore, the report makes a series of recommendations to raise demand for financial advice including:
- Using advice to support the auto-enrolled – duty on employers to ensure staff can access the best information and advice on their pensions
- Mandating default guidance for those seeking to access their pension savings – to ensure people can get crucial information in a complex marketplace and avoid worst outcomes
- Helping to create informed consumers through continued development and roll out the pensions dashboard
- Ensuring regulators continue to place emphasis on access to independent financial advice
Tags: Royal London
