Asset manager Legg Mason polled over 15,000 investors around the world and found that 76% of UK investors would refuse to pay the typical hourly fee for financial advice.
The average fee in the UK is £150 ($190, €170) per hour, according to directory site unbiased.co.uk.
Only 10% of respondents said they would pay £150 or more for financial advice, with over a third (36%) refusing to pay anything at all.
Of the remainder, 29% said they would pay a maximum of £49 per hour, while a further 11% said they would pay between £50 and £149.
Around 15% of respondents said they were “not sure” how much advice should cost.
Baby boomers, those born between 1945 and 1964, were the least keen to pay for investment advice, with more than half of respondents in this category (52%) stating they would refuse to pay anything at all to an adviser. Just 2% said they would pay £150 or more per hour for advice.
Millennials, the group aged between 18-36, were far more disposed to paying for advice, revealed Legg Mason, with just 17% ruling it out completely.
Almost a fifth (19%) said they would be willing to pay the going rate of £150 per hour or above.
Justin Eede, head of Europe and Americas distribution at Legg Mason, said: “Despite a challenging global investment environment only a worryingly small percentage of UK investors say they are prepared to pay the going rate for investment advice.”
Post-RDR shift
The results show a shift in attitude among younger generations in the wake of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), which was introduced in the UK in 2012.
Prior to RDR, UK consumers did not pay directly for advice, as the commission system meant product providers paid the advisers.
“In the post-RDR world it is perhaps unsurprising millennials are more open to paying for advice, whilst older generations – who were not previously paying advisers directly – are less keen to do so,” said Eede.
“With the rise of robo-advisers and other online platforms, the notion of paying for face-to-face advice could come under further pressure. However, the fact millennials are far more likely to pay for advice than older investors suggests a brighter long-term outlook for a sector that plays a valuable role in society.”
