FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY
Special feature :
BETTER COMMUNICATION BETTER BUSINESS
IT ' S TIME ADVISERS GOT THE RECOGNITION THEY DESERVE
Alex Whitson Managing Director VouchedFor
At VouchedFor , we ’ re driven by a belief which I think readers will share : that good financial advice can transform clients ’ lives .
Since we were founded 11 years ago , we ’ ve been on a mission to help the adviser community deliver an even greater impact for millions of clients . More than 2 million consumers use our site every year to find and check advisers . But there are still 8 million consumers in the UK with a sufficient level of wealth to benefit from financial advice , who aren ’ t engaging with it . The main reason for this is lack of trust .* Five years ago , we launched VouchedFor ’ s annual Guide to Top Rated Financial Advisers in The Times , to celebrate the brilliant , life-changing work that most advisers do for their clients . Work which isn ’ t rightly reflected by public levels of trust in the profession . The Guide includes articles and case studies to help build public understanding and trust around financial advice , as well as calling out specific advisers and firms who have received excellent client feedback on VouchedFor . Next year , we ’ re going further to make the Guide the biggest consumer-facing campaign celebrating the value of financial advice . The 2024 Guide will be distributed not just in The Times , but also in The Telegraph and The Mail on Sunday – trebling its reach . Advisers who feature in the 2024 Guide will be seen by more than 3 million consumers in three national newspapers , throughout 2024 . A digital edition of the Guide will also be sent to 10,000 + accountants and solicitors across the UK . Our aim is to give the whole financial advice profession the recognition it deserves , while calling out the specific advisers and firms who have qualified as Top Rated on the strength of their client feedback .
Why now ? In the current economic climate , it ’ s more important than ever that we build public trust in advice . Consumers are increasingly cost-conscious and , with interest rates rising and stock markets fairly flat , many could be tempted to forgo professional advice and go it alone . We want to help people understand how financial advice can help them arrive at the decisions that will best serve their long-term goals . We know that most advisers already deliver excellent results for their clients every day ; our data shows that 95 % of clients would recommend their adviser . With the Consumer Duty in force since the end of July , advisers and firms have put in a lot of hard work this year to focus on improving their client experience .
Collecting and showcasing client feedback is a powerful , objective way to share how well you serve your clients . As a profession , we should be more confident about promoting ourselves – and celebrating our peers .
If you ’ re interested in being a part of the campaign , even if just to share a client case study , we ’ d love to hear from you . Please get in touch at Guide @ vouchedfor . co . uk
* The State of the Advice Nation 2023 , The Lang Cat | 2023 Advice Report , Boring Money
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