Member Article

Recession boosts interest in online financial advice

Online and telephone financial advice will become more popular if it cuts business costs, according to nationwide research.

Research carried out by financial services firm Prudential, investigated attitudes to new business models and showed that more people would be willing to pay for financial services over the internet or telephone if it reduced costs.

39% of respondents said they would fill in details online before an advisor meeting, and 25% said they would use non face-to-face services to save money.

Russell Warwick, Prudential’s distribution change director, said: “Giving advice over the phone or online is a logical progression for advisers, and reflects the need to meet changing customer demand.

“Conducting annual reviews by phone, for example, would cut travel time which, when added up for all clients, could amount to hundreds of hours over the course of a year.”

Higher levels of younger clients said they were willing to receive advice in this way, while 39% of 18-34 year olds said they would speak to an adviser over the phone or online, in comparison with just 23% of 35 to 54-year olds, and 15% of those aged 55 and upwards.

Expectations for costs were slashed, as 47% of respondents said they would want prices halved if they were not met in person.

The global economic climate and challenges from the recession are a main contributor to changing attitudes, according to Prudential, with 18% of people now saying they would pay for advice since the financial crisis hit.

Prudential said: “This is a result of people being more concerned about their future finances and how current market volatility will impact their investments and financial future, as well as trusting their own judgement less when making financial decisions.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .