Recent reviews of the advice industry indicate prices can range from as low as £75 per hour to as high as £250, with one survey finding that the average adviser charged £150 per hour in 2014.
However, new findings from Legg Mason’s annual Global Investment Survey suggest wealthy clients, on average, are not prepared to pay that rate for financial advice.
Comparing high net worth investors around the world, Legg Mason found 55% of wealthy US investors currently use an adviser, versus just 35% in the UK (although the UK compares favourably to other European countries).
Despite the increasing focus on financial planning by advice businesses in the UK, clients say this is one of their least important needs, with just 27% of investors highlighting it as a top-three benefit of working with an adviser.
Instead, the key reasons cited for using an adviser are: the opportunities they provide to improve investment performance (48%); the help they give to help investors avoid costly mistakes (46%); and to provide access to a variety of investments they would otherwise not be able to buy (44%).
Adam Gent, Head of UK Sales at Legg Mason, said:
“The survey suggests there is a significant mismatch between what advisers charge for their services and what investors are willing to pay. This implies the industry has far more work to do to highlight the value of advice in an environment in which upfront fees have replaced the old commission model.
“The survey also shows that investors appreciate advice for a variety of reasons, some of which are obvious and some less so. It is surprising, for instance, that there is a lack of desire among UK investors for a formal financial plan, but perhaps less of a shock that clients use advisers to help them avoid making mistakes when choosing their investments.”
