What is the most important quality older homeowners look for in an adviser?

Older homeowners say trust is the most important quality they look for in an adviser, followed closely by transparency, thoroughness, and tailored service, according to new research by the Equity Release Council.

Research of 2,000 older homeowners, undertaken to mark the launch of the Council’s new 'Standards 2.0', highlighted the vital importance people place in these attributes. The new standards aim to further embed customer protections that go beyond minimum regulatory requirements.

Interestingly, while there were some small differences between the genders and age groups, homeowners over 40 were extremely consistent in the order in which they ranked the importance of advice being trusted, transparent, thorough and tailored.

When asked why they thought it was important for organisations to sign up to standards which go over and above regulations to protect customers, just 4% said it wasn’t necessary as regulation will protect them while 4% said that there was already too much regulation. Instead, 63% believed in additional standards as they wanted as much protection as possible and 56% banked on standards to provide additional support if things went wrong.  

These sentiments get stronger as people age with 12% more people over the age of 56 believing that they want as much protection as possible compared to those aged 40-55 and 11% more wanting to know that if anything went wrong, they would receive additional support.

Older homeowners put significant value on the advice they receive being trusted, transparent, thorough and tailored as they said it made them feel confident (43%) about their decisions and like their needs had been understood (29%). Just over one in four (27%) said they felt hopeful and more interested (25%) when companies held these values.

Michelle Highman, chair of the Equity Release Council’s standards committee, commented: “Customers need to trust their advisers to provide transparent, thorough and tailored support, which is why when we relaunched our Standards, we included a Consumer Charter. This consumer-facing document clearly highlights what people can expect from a member of the Equity Release Council and encourages people to expect the most from their advisers.  

“Making decisions about later life finances can seem big and daunting but with the right advice, people can feel confident and truly understood. While not all older customers are vulnerable, people are more likely to face circumstances or conditions that make them more vulnerable as they age and therefore need additional support, so they see Standards which are designed to protect them as increasingly important.

“Indeed, two-thirds of homeowners over the age of 65 said that additional standards mattered as they wanted as much protection as possible while 61% wanted to know they would get additional support if anything went wrong. It is these types of safeguards that will encourage more people to look at all their options in retirement and help to encourage more people to make proactive use of their property wealth as they age.”