Financial planners are not doing a good enough job communicating the value of their advice to clients, according to new research by Huthwaite Asia Pacific.
The survey of over 430 senior staff from a range of industries found that nearly one quarter had no idea how much advice from a financial planner was worth.
Less than 7 per cent of those surveyed selected $2,000 to $3,000 as an amount they would expect to pay for advice, despite this being the most common rate charged by planners.
The survey also found that 50 per cent of people were most likely to choose a financial planner based on a personal referral from an existing client.
Huthwaite partner Shehan Wijetilaka said the results showed the need for planners to both communicate their value to their clients and add value to their service.
“Clients are also aware that in the past, some financial planners have received larger rebates for using particular products or platforms and this has led many to push their clients in that direction. This is a conflict that needs to be fixed so that trust can be re-established,” he said.
The most important criteria for judging a financial planner’s performance was found to be whether the planner focused on understanding a client’s needs, which received an overall rating of four out of five.
