General Election now bigger worry than Brexit for advisers

33% say the June 8th vote and its aftermath are a major concern for their business over the next three months, ahead of concerns following the triggering of Article 50, cited by 27%.

Clients are also feeling the strain with more than a quarter of advisers (28%) saying election uncertainty is preventing clients from making decisions.

More than half (53%) of advisers believe the Conservatives offer the most compelling vision for improving pensions, savings and financial advice compared with just 21% who are backing Labour.

They are however likely to be disappointed on legislative changes – the key changes advisers would like to see are the abolition of the Lifetime Allowance on pension payouts and abolition of the Annual Allowance on contributions.

Around 34% of advisers want to see the Lifetime Allowance abolished while 31% want the Annual Allowance scrapped. Around 11% want the Triple Lock on State Pensions maintained.

The research shows 43% of advisers believe the Brexit negotiations will have a negative impact on clients in traditional drawdown, highlighting the need to protect gains. Just one in three advisers believes Brexit will benefit drawdown clients.

Richard Evans, Intermediary Development Manager at MetLife UK, said: “Advisers may have hoped that political and economic uncertainty would have eased following the triggering of Article 50 but that was rapidly followed by the launch of a General Election.

“It is clear that the election is adding to the general uncertainty which is affecting long-term planning and complicating long-term decision making as clients react to the ups and downs of opinion polls and their impact on investment markets.

“Equity markets have remained robust but there is a growing concern that volatility will return, particularly as the EU exit negotiations start in earnest following the General Election result, whatever the outcome.”