The Voice of the Adviser study revealed that 42% of advisers stated the RDR was beneficial to them, although a significant majority were concerned that less affluent investors, those with less than £30,000 in investible assets, would be priced out of the advice market.
Just over one quarter of advisers anticipate a reduction in clients over the next 12 months as a result of RDR, while a reduction in the number of advisers is viewed as the most significant impact of the new legislation.
Around 400 UK-based IFAs took part in the survey. Other findings show that around half anticipate the economic outlook to remain the same in 2013, and that they blame the Labour government (1997 – 2010) for the current economic situation.
Ian Beaumont, CEO at Matrix Solutions, said: ““These figures offer an optimistic outlook for the future of the market, even amid widespread concerns as to how RDR is affecting firms. There was a large amount of uncertainty surrounding the impact of the new rules, but this research shows that a good percentage of IFAs are confident they can not only adapt but potentially grow under RDR. Possible reasons for this confidence could be the new regulations are providing better clarity, transparency and disclosure which will lead to better relationships between clients and advisers.”
