The report, Organic growth for financial advice firms, is based on responses from more than 200 financial advice professionals and explores how personnel development supports business growth. It found that advisers aged under 45 generated 22% of their personal revenue from new clients in the past 12 months. This compares to 17% among advisers aged 45–54, 14% among those aged 55–64, and 16% for advisers aged 65 and over.
Despite these figures, only 17% of advisers said that hiring younger advisers would help attract new clients, ranking it as the eighth most common growth strategy identified.
The data also showed that advisers under 45 are more than twice as likely to work with new clients who have simpler financial needs, at 33%, compared with 15% of advisers aged 55–64. This may present opportunities as regulators seek to broaden access to advice.
The report from NextWealth and Aegon explores how firms can use recruitment and training strategies to enhance client acquisition and long-term business growth.
Heather Hopkins, managing director at NextWealth, said: “Growth is a team sport, and having a range of different views, skillsets and ideas can only be a good thing for advice firms looking to lay the groundwork for achieving long-term strategic value.
“The firms building enduring value are doing several things in concert, including developing talent at every career stage. Hiring younger advisers can support that strategy when coupled with new ways of working that lift the whole team.
“Our research also shows that younger advisers draw in clients from a wider range of circumstances and sources. By pairing this new energy with the experience already in the industry, firms that invest in younger talent now could be in a favourable position to build the next few decades of trusted relationships.”
