Prudential UK’s Family Wealth Unlocked survey finds 53% of UK adults seeking financial advice because of the financial crisis caused by COVID-19.
The research also finds 85% of UK adults have financial concerns when thinking about the next 12 months.
The most common concerns listed:
1. Having to use my savings to make ends meet – 23%
2. My investments losing money – 20%
3. Having a reduced income – 18%
4. Being made redundant/losing my job – 17%
5. Social care/health costs – 14%
6. Not saving any money – 13%
7. Getting into debt – 11%
8. Having to financially support my children – 11%
9. Not being able to afford to retire as planned – 10%
10. Having to ask my parents/family for financial support – 9%
The report also revealed that the need for financial advice was felt greatest among the younger generations, with 74% of Millennials saying they had or were going to see an adviser,
58% for Gen Z were seeking advice, driven by ‘getting into financial difficulty’ and ‘wanting to start their investment journey.’
While still pronounced, the need for advice decreases slightly with age. With 32% of Gen X, 21% of Boomers and 24% of the 75+ age group saying the crisis specifically had driven them to seek advice.
Perhaps because younger generations, who have not necessarily been financially active during a financial crisis, have been made nervous by volatility – or have unspent monies to invest.
Vince Smith-Hughes, Director of Specialist Business Support at Prudential UK, said: “It’s been a challenging 12 months for UK adults up and down the country and this has stimulated the need for advice, be it because of pent-up cash levels, market volatility or job security. While the need for advice spans all generations, our research reveals the pandemic appears to have created a pronounced opportunity for advisers to provide advice to younger audiences.
“While many assume cost is a barrier to advice, this does not appear to be the case in Covid-times – for any of the five generations interviewed. In fact, only 3% of the sample overall said they’d like to see an adviser but couldn’t afford to. Hopefully this research also acts as a wake-up call to those who don’t currently take advice that many of them could benefit from doing so.”
A full version of Prudential UK’s new Family Wealth Unlocked report can be found here
