The demand for additional tax expertise is being strongly fuelled by the pension freedom rules introduced earlier this year by UK chancellor George Osborne.
In the PollRight survey of 120 IFAs, 67% of advisers expected to need additional specialist tax expertise to help clients as retirement planning becomes correspondingly more complex under the new rules.
The pension changes are also creating new opportunities for financial advisers to work with accountants, with 89% of advisers expecting to work more closely with accountants and just under a third, 29%, forecasting the increase to become significant for their businesses.
Advisers also picked out other growth areas when working with accountants, with 33% citing personal IHT planning and 32% of advisers also highlighting business IHT and legacy planning.
But just 4.2% of advisers saw offshore financial advice as a growth area over the next two years with accountants.
Vince Smith-Hughes, head of business development at Prudential, said a “very clear business development perfect storm” had developed over the last six months.
“Pension freedom is driving up the demand for specialist client services such as intricate tax advice and business legacy planning, while advisers have been quick off the mark to extend their service offering and meet the growth opportunities opening up for their businesses”, he said.
In response to this demand, Prudential has decided to host a series of nationwide seminars for financial advisers and accountants, supported by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) Financial Services Faculty.
John Gaskell at ICAEW Financial Services Faculty, said: “Closer working relationships between financial advisers and accountants offers a smart solution for clients facing some pivotal tax and planning decisions.”
The first of the 17 half-day seminars, free to attend and accredited by the Chartered Institute of Insurers and the Institute of Financial Planning, will be held in Cardiff on 15 September.
