41% of the UK public say they would trust a qualified financial adviser when seeking financial advice but only 7% would trust their bank for advice, says a Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) survey.
The survey*, commissioned by the CISI and undertaken by YouGov, asked the question:
“In seeking financial advice, who would you trust more?” Of those who responded:
- 41% said “a qualified financial adviser”
- 26% said “no-one else but trust yourself”
- 22% said “would trust a good friend or relative”
- 7% said they would trust their bank
- 3% other
- 1% said they would trust the media
In addition, when asked
“Before seeking financial advice from a financial or wealth manager, which of these would you do?” the responses were:
- 30% were not sure what to do
- 28% would seek confirmation from another client
- 25% would seek confirmation from the Regulator
- 25% would seek confirmation of qualifications from the Awarding body
This question allowed participants to choose a combination of responses.
The findings have been released ahead of the CISI’s annual
Financial Planning Week, which this year commences 8
th May and during which CISI CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professionals offer the UK public free, one hour financial planning sessions.
Jacqueline Lockie, Deputy Head of Financial Planning at the CISI said: “
The survey findings show there is still a lot to be done to build trust in financial advice and planning in the minds of consumers. These findings also indicate that consumers are unsure what to do when seeking advice – our ten questions to ask a financial planner will help greatly with this.
“
There also seems to be a need for consumers to source some sort of register of highly qualified advisers, such as CISI’s Wayfinder, run on a not-for-profit basis and listing all those UK based CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professionals who have achieved the internationally recognised financial planning qualification. We must go the extra mile to help consumers navigate this complexity and make it easier for them to both trust and seek financial help.
“
We have over 80 firms involved now for Financial Planning Week, with CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professionals lined up to give consumers nationwide free, one hour sessions to help them work with their life goals and help them plan how they can achieve their goals.
“
The initiative takes place for the week of 8 May and is being led by our CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professionals, alongside with other CISI qualified professionals, by offering free financial planning sessions, worth up to £500, either in person, via skype or over the phone. The website for consumers to book a free financial planning session is Cisi.org/fpweek, email fpweek@cisi.org or call 020 7645 0708.”
