Client trust at core of successful advice relationships

Publicly-listed vertically-integrated financial services group, Fiducian believes the close relationships its planners have developed with their clients has helped them weather the negativity towards financial advisers which flowed in the aftermath of the Royal Commission.

Fiducian conducted a survey 2,000 clients based on a range of trust indicators which resulted in 98% stating they found their planner to be trustworthy.

Fiducian Financial Services executive chair, Robby Southall said this was pleasing in circumstances where CoreData research had recently pointed to trust in financial advice having to declined to around 35% in the wake of the Royal Commission.

The Fiducian survey findings come at the same time as new research commissioned by major insurer, MetLife, rated honesty and trustworthiness at being the most important attributes for clients when choosing an adviser, followed by transparency around fees and commissions.

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The MetLife research was also important because it suggested that consumers were more inclined to fee for service arrangements with their advisers rather than commissions.

It found that 78% of consumers with life insurance obtained via an adviser preferred to pay an upfront fee for advice with lower insurance premiums over the lifetime of the policy.

Further, when asked if removing commissions would make them more or less willing to see their adviser, nearly half indicated that it would not make any difference.

Notwithstanding these results, the same survey said that nearly three-quarters of consumers believed that removing commissions would result in more people being under-insured.