Not only do clients who trust their advisers say the Royal Commission will have no impact on their advice relationship, but 38 per cent of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and 20 per cent of advised consumers say the Commission will make them even more likely to visit their adviser.
In positive news for the embattled advice industry, the MetLife Adviser-Client Relationship Report 2018 found 56 per cent of consumers and 37 per cent of SMEs said their relationships with their advisers would go unchanged from the Commission.
“What’s clear from these numbers is that the Royal Commission has put the spotlight on the need for quality advice and its enduring appeal,” MetLife Australia head of retail sales, Matt Lippiatt, said.
“We’ve seen a lot of negativity about financial advice in the media, but consumers and SMEs are both telling us that there are good advisers who are doing a great job.”
The research found that advisers who genuinely cared about their clients, spoke to them in easy-to-understand language, and maintained honesty and trustworthiness were the most trusted.
For those seeking advisers, transparency and experience also ranked highly in consumers’ selection, with that first trait unsurprising considering the revelations uncovered by the Commission.
The report was based on a survey of consumers who currently use an adviser, consumers considering seeing an adviser in the next two years, and SMEs with up to 20 employees.
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