Nov 9, 2023

Current inflation rates now have one in ten regretting that decision Share The majority (75%) of Brits have not had financial advice in the last five years and now one in ten regret that decision, according to research from independent consultants AKG and Charles Stanley. Research for the paper - Future of Advice - State of Flux - found that 55% of Brits admitted that they have never seen a financial adviser with a further 20% admitting that, whilst they have seen one in the past, they have not spoken with an adviser in the last five years. With the economic challenges that have occurred such as inflation rates, more than one in ten of the people surveyed admitted that they regret not taking financial advice on a major financial decision, such as retirement planning. The main two reasons given for this regret were that they had underestimated the impact of inflation (31%) and they now feel that they do not have enough money set aside to afford the retirement that they would like (35%). Other reasons given included the fact that they had lost money (27%), had bought the wrong product (25%), or had not bought the appropriate product (21%) due to not taking professional advice. The research also found that, in hindsight, this subset of investors would have sought advice on savings and investing (35%), pensions (32%) and general financial planning (31%). Charles Stanley group head of sales Sean Osborne said: "We cannot ignore the huge impact that inflation has had on people's lives. The paper has unearthed something that we are seeing day-to-day when speaking with advisers and clients. Many are grappling with ensuring that their investments and savings are well positioned to weather the impact of inflationary forces. "At a time when many major asset classes, including equity and bond markets, have taken a beating, many are left wondering where to turn to get inflation beating returns, and shield cash that is saved for the long-term, such as pensions. "A well-diversified portfolio that has access to a deep breadth of research is the approach that we believe will help advisers and their clients weather the storm."