The level of trust high net worth investors hold in financial advisers seems to belie recent negative publicity, if new research released today by Legg Mason is to be taken as a guide.
The Legg Mason 2016 Global Investment Survey, which covered nearly 6,000 high net worth investors, revealed that of those who were using financial advisers, 72 per cent had total trust in their services.
What is more, the survey found that the total level of trust investors had in financial advisers was higher than all other sources of advice: family (42 per cent), financial news (48 per cent), forums (19 per cent) and online platforms (18 per cent).
The survey found that when it came to superannuation, 62 per cent of Australian investors agreed that seeking the advice of a professional financial planner was a key way to improve understanding of their super.
It said this was despite a large number of Australian investors (53 per cent) losing confidence in the super system due to various changes in government.
It said that comparing different age groups across the globe, millennial investors were more likely to use financial advisers than older investors (80 per cent and 46 per cent respectively) and that the Australian element of the survey revealed a similar pattern, with millennials twice as likely to seek help from a financial adviser as their older counterparts.
The survey revealed that female investors across the globe were much more likely (54 per cent) to trust their family/ friends/ co-workers for advice than men (33 per cent).
Commenting on the survey result and the reality that only 33 per cent of Australian investors were seeking out professional sources of financial advice, Legg Mason’s Global Head of Distribution Marketing, Matt Schiffman, said he believed it identified an opportunity for advisers.
“While advisers are being used by an increasing number of Australians, there are still many investors in Australia not receiving professional financial advice. This is creating a real opportunity for financial advisers to develop a clear and concise value proposition in their own marketing to investors,” he said.
