Some 575 ‘principally investment focused’ advisers were questioned by the firm.
The main shift in fees identified by the survey was a move from the 50 basis points level towards charging clients 75 to 100 plus basis points for advice.
Only 35% said they charge 50 basis points compared to 45% a year ago, with those charging 75 up to 35% and those taking 100 from clients up to 23%.
The survey also found an increase in the trend for advisers to refuse to serve clients with smaller pots. It found 19% have formally asked clients with less money to leave, and 61% said they would not serve any client with less than £50,000 to invest.
This growing advice gap is set to be filled by a rise in restricted advisers and vertical integrators who can step in and sweep up the smaller pots, according to Schroders head of UK intermediary Robin Stoakley.
“The advise gap is the biggest issue in financial services,” he said. “Pre RDR most people were charged 50 bps regardless of size, but a lot more segmentation is now happening and big clients are not subsidising smaller ones anymore.”
Stoakley also sounded a note of caution, however. He said there is a worry that much of the ‘new money coming into the vertical integrators will be from the transfer of existing investment pots, rather than from people currently without any advice, so the industry will need to be watchful on this.
