Covid-19 sparks growing demand for face-to-face advice

The financial impact of Covid-19 is driving demand for advice, but has not diminished the popularity of face-to-face support, according to new research from Openwork.

Related topics:  Finance News
Rozi Jones
18th September 2020
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"To some extent it will be about repairing the financial damage of Covid-19, but it is also interesting that people still want to see advisers face-to-face despite social distancing."

Nearly one in five (17%) of adults say they are now more likely to seek financial advice in the wake of economic hit from Covid-19, rising to nearly one in four (23%) among under-35s.

A major motivation for seeking advice is the financial impact of Covid-19, with 29% of respondents saying the pandemic has knocked their financial planning off course.

However, lockdown and ongoing social distancing has not changed how people prefer to receive advice - nearly two thirds of adults (63%) still want face-to-face support while 66% worry robo advice may not meet their needs.

General demand for advice remains strong, with over two fifths (44%) of adults saying they would benefit from some form of regular financial advice. It is even more encouraging among 18 – 24-year olds, with over half (55%) valuing financial support.

That applies at work too, with 36% saying that they would like their current employer to offer access to financial advice and over one half of 18 – 24-year olds (60%) agreeing that they’d like their employer to offer access to financial advice.

52% of advisers agree that Covid-19 has demonstrated the true value of advice and 35% say that the pandemic will increase demand.

Nearly half (47%) of advisers think that Covid-19 could mean firms need to recruit more advisers to meet growing demand.

Claire Limon, director of learning and acquisition at Openwork, said: “Despite the challenges posed by Covid-19 and the difficult last six months, it is absolutely clear that the demand for financial advice remains as strong as ever, especially among young adults who have only recently started their careers.

“To some extent it will be about repairing the financial damage of Covid-19, but it is also interesting that people still want to see advisers face-to-face despite social distancing.

“Openwork is committed to increasing the numbers of advisers across our network to ensure that everyone is able to receive the advice they need and in the way that most suits them and that can mean face-to-face over the internet or video."

 

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