What were the top opportunities for advisers in 2019?

Looking ahead, existing clients recommending new clients remains top of the opportunities list for 2020, with recruiting extra staff coming in second.

Asked about the challenges, regulation and cyber security were the top two in 2019, with regulation and Brexit coming out top for 2020.

Nick Eatock, CEO at Intelliflo, commented: "It's no surprise that regulation tops the list of challenges but it's interesting to see it ranks highly as an opportunity too. Regulation such as PROD (The Product Intervention and Product Governance Sourcebook) is one regulation that many advisers are still grappling with but, when done well, it can provide huge benefits for clients and advice businesses.

"It's also interesting that staff recruitment remains an issue. When we carried out a similar survey last year, recruitment was third in the list of challenges for 2018 and this latest survey seems to indicate that was the case and also that recruitment continues to be a challenge for the year ahead. Our experience working with advisers is that those who adapt their businesses to recognise the benefits offered by fully embracing technology can overcome some of the recruitment challenges they fear."