One of the biggest tasks for the financial advice industry during the coronavirus pandemic is continuing to bring in new business, however it is posing a problem for firms.
The Personal Finance Society (PFS) surveyed 128 of its members and found that almost four-in-10 financial advisers have reported a decrease in the number of new clients trying to engage their services since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
While 30% said they had seen an increase in the number of new clients wanting their help following the outbreak of covid-19.
A similar figure said the number of new clients approaching them since March was similar to the number of people who knocked on their doors asking for help managing their finances in 2019.
Digital channels
Keith Richards, chief executive of the PFS, said: “With the current level of uncertainty over markets and the future of the economy, clients need more reassurance than ever that they are on the right track, and that they are getting personalised, relevant financial advice that cuts through the noise that they are hearing on in social and traditional media.
“However, financial advisers are responding to this challenge, making more use of digital channels, and using their existing client base to establish and develop new relationships.”
This is a similar view to Adam Benskin, chief executive at Strabens Hall, who spoke to International Adviser saying that “the area that is affecting us is the fact that you can’t do face-to-face marketing”.
“This time of year normally we would be doing business and meeting people but that isn’t happening, so what we’re doing as a business is developing a PR campaign because we can’t access our markets in the normal way,” he added.
“The other aspect is digital marketing. And I think some firms perhaps in the last lockdown believed that this was going to be a temporary issue, and are now realising that this is going to be possibly a much longer-term way of working and therefore business needs to adapt.
“I think digital marketing will have an important role to play in that.”
Contacts
IA also recently reported on how inactive financial advisers are missing out on client referrals.
Octopus Investments surveyed 200 UK financial advisers and found there was a four-fold increase in referrals from accountants and solicitors among those who actively pursue professional connections as part of their strategy for gaining new clients.
However, despite 70% of advisers saying that these relationships are key to growing their business, the research discovered that only 56% of advisers are actively developing this type of connections.
