Figures from the firm’s adviser sentiment tracker, which asked 491 intermediaries for answers on a number of issues, found a total of 76% of advisers were chartered or looking to get the qualification soon, down from 78% in September.
Only 16% of respondents said they were qualified already, while 27% are studying towards it and 33% are thinking about it.
Asked about their chartered intentions in September last year 18% were qualified already, 29% were studying towards it and 31% were thinking about it.
At the time Skandia’s marketing director, Nick Dixon, said: ““The data is a clear sign of just how important it is going to be for advisers to achieve chartered status. The more advisers who reach chartered status, the greater the pressure will be on the remaining adviser population to also reach that benchmark.”
Chartered aims
But the impetus does seem to have slowed slightly with 2% fewer qualified to chartered, which could mean some had exited the profession, and 2% fewer currently studying for the qualification.
If this were because some had qualified since September, however, it would presumably have had a positive impact on the proportion of qualified advisers.
Skandia said the research, completed by 15 February, comes at a time when advisers are reshaping their businesses and looking at what key attributes might be important to their client base.
It added the distinction between independent and restricted could arguably become less important if clients become more aware of the value of chartered status.
Also in the research, Skandia found 90% of advisers had remained independent, with 8% offering restricted advice and just over 2% offering both.
The bulk of advisers (83%) said they are not looking to change their offering in the next 12 months, but nearly 12% are not sure if they will remain independent and just over 5% plan to become restricted in the next year.
