Advisers 'riding a wave of opportunity in 2017': Aegon

One in five (17%) expect growth to be ‘significant’ as they capitalise on emerging advice opportunities such as Defined Benefit to Defined Contribution transfers.

The report, which tracks the behaviour, attitudes and concerns of the UK financial adviser market, found the sector to be "in rude health", despite a slight fall in the total number of financial advice firms since 2015.

Such is the anticipated scale of demand that more than a quarter (28%) of advisers expect to grow their team in the next 12 months to meet it.

53% of advisers see DB transfers as a key growth opportunity, with social care funding featuring highly and pensions dashboards also creating opportunities.

81% have seen turnover increase in the past 12 months, and 81% expect this to continue into 2018. However, 7 in 10 advisers fear that domestic political volatility, as well as Brexit, could derail this growth.

Two in five (40%) advisers are concerned that Brexit could hurt their business, although one in five (21%) see it as an opportunity.

But the combination of broader political volatility and Brexit is seen as a key threat by 70% of the adviser market. Regulatory change is also a worry for many, with Mifid II (23%) being called out as introducing further uncertainty to the path ahead.

The advent of robo-advice is also a topic that divides advisers, with 31% expecting to see more demand, while the same number of advisers see it as a threat.

Steven Cameron, Pensions Director at Aegon UK, said: “From RDR to advising on the pension freedoms, the UK’s financial advice market has been buffeted by its fair share of regulatory headwinds in the past decade, but has emerged stronger and more sustainable; as too have the firms that have proven they can adapt to meet the opportunities change brings. The government’s pension freedoms have given more financial responsibility to individuals approaching retirement, making the role of the adviser a fundamental backbone of our pension system.

“In our increasingly complex market, it’s important that people seek professional financial advice whenever making significant and life-altering decisions, so it’s encouraging to see that advisers are indeed seeing this growing need reflected in demand. Consumers face increasing choices but there are also significant challenges to be overcome in providing for their financial futures. This is especially the case with the ongoing decline of DB and in this new era of pension freedoms. For those advisers that can stay ahead of the curve, all change should be seen as an opportunity to demonstrate added value to both current and prospective clients.”