Mind The Gap
Financial Advice | Unlocking the mass market
Where are we now & how did we get here?
We asked ex Money Marketing Editor and all-round advice market genius John Lappin and our own Paul Yates to explore how financial advice could be unlocked for the mass market.
For all the grim warnings, the figures for the numbers of financial advisers have been relatively stable in recent years. The business transacted year on year across the sector, and indeed numbers of clients served, have been remarkably steady as well. The sector has remained resilient throughout the pandemic and the subsequent cost-of-living crisis. It certainly suffered no major reverses.
However, regulators and politicians, and indeed many financial advisers too, remain very concerned at the limited reach of advice and financial planning across the income scale and, to a degree related to this, across the younger generations in the UK.
The Role of Technology
As with any market, revolution of advice within financial services will be heavily dependent on the technology on which it is built. Or the foundations on which the firms who deliver it, rely.
With this challenge will come a demand for investment. Many market sectors, especially pensions (perhaps excluding platforms), savings & investments and protection still have a legacy problem when it comes to technology. That is, there is still too much technology causing process and digital friction, operational risk and inhibited connectivity.
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