The research also revealed that 14% of advisers believe their business will experience ‘significant growth’ over the next year.
Throughout 2014, business for adviser firms improved, with average gross turnover increasing year on year. Just under half of respondents (47%) reached a turnover in excess of £400,000 compared with 40% the previous year.
Existing clients continue to play a major part in ongoing business for adviser firms, with two-thirds of firms (66%) revealing that more than 60% of their business comes from exisiting clients, while just over one-third of adviser firms (35%) report less than 20% of business comes from new clients.
The findings from the census also highlight how face-to-face contact and helping clients ‘make sense of it all’ are the two most important elements of an adviser’s service. This result is reflected in advisers spending most of their time, 21% each respectively, on ‘client reports’ and ‘time with clients’.
Social media continues to play an important role in an adviser firm as engagement of the tool continues to rise, with 72% of the Nucleus community using Linkedin and 51% of users on Twitter.
Nucleus business development director Barry Neilson, commented:
“Our annual census provides a definitive record of Nucleus users’ progress, as they continue to grow and develop year-on-year. The latest findings reflect the positive attitude of our community, which is determined to make the most of the available commercial opportunities and position themselves to achieve further growth over the coming year.
“Our community is made up of ambitious, quality firms across the UK and the findings from this year’s census highlight that the conditions for growth are in place for the most dedicated and pro-active firms to succeed. With turnover up sharply and a strong increase in client numbers expected in the next 12 months the future looks extremely positive.”
