Advisers trusted despite downturn

Despite the downturn in financial markets, investors remain remarkably confident in the abilities of their financial advisers, according to the latest Lifeplan ICFS Financial Advice Satisfaction Index.

The index has declined only slightly from 74.3 to 73.2 over the past six months, with the data suggesting that while clients have lost some faith in their advisers’ technical ability, they remained generally confident in other aspects of their performance.

What is more, the index showed that females were more satisfied with their advisers than males, and that older clients were likely to be more negative than their younger counterparts.

Commenting on the findings, Lifeplan general manager of strategy and development Matt Walsh said that it was not surprising to see the decline in the index given the market situation, but it was not a big decrease and there were several positive aspects in the underlying measures.

“The decline in the index is only due to some pockets in the investor market, namely the over 60s segment and those receiving advice for between five and 10 years, who have scored their advisers lower in terms of technical quality and trust,” he said.

“However, despite the market turmoil, all types of investors have scored their advisers higher in terms of performance perception,” Walsh said. “It would seem that the industry’s active communication strategy might be helping clients rein in their expectations of market returns and enhance comprehension of the benefit of a diversified portfolio.”