According to the Financial Conduct Authority, 92% of UK adults have not received professional financial advice in the last year. Each of them has a personal reason why, for example, some prefer to rely on input from friends and family, while others think that professional advice is too expensive, or they don’t realise that they have enough wealth to gain from it.

However, if you’re among those people who have not sought advice, you could be missing out on its real, measurable benefits. We’ll detail some of these here, to help you with the decision of whether to speak to an adviser. 

The main benefit of seeking financial advice is to enjoy a better future with more possibilities. One important aspect of that is retirement planning.

Multiple studies have shown that financial advice can improve your retirement. Research from the International Longevity Centre (ILC) reports that taking advice has, in the past, led to an average increase in retirement income of £47,000 over a decade. David Sinclair, Director of the ILC states:

“It is still the case that far too many people who take out investments and pensions do not use financial advice. And only a minority of the population has seen a financial adviser.”

Research conducted by Dunstan Thomas shows that clients who receive financial planning can hope to be 39% a year better off in retirement than those who opt to take financial decisions by themselves.

To explain those results, Dunstan Thomas director of retirement strategy Adrian Boulding says, “While it is inevitable those who go to an adviser for assistance have more savings to manage in the first place, it is worth noting financial advisers instil the financial disciplines of saving, planning and reviewing progress, which helps build long-term savings.”

Very few people simply aspire to have more wealth; what matters is what that wealth can do for you. So, it’s important to note that the benefits of advice are not only financial. A research report from Royal London lists the ways that advice could improve your emotional wellbeing:

• By giving you more confidence and understanding of how to organise your finances and achieve your financial goals
• By improving your financial literacy
• By enabling a feeling of control over your finances
• By creating a feeling of empowerment to make informed financial decisions
• By providing peace of mind that comes from knowing you have a realistic plan and are on track to achieve it.

Financial planning involves financial advice but also offers much more. It is a continuous process that evolves over time, as you move through the different stages of life and need your plans to advance with you.

Our financial planners will define and assess your financial goals, investment time frames and tolerance for risk. They’ll monitor these over time, provide guidance in times of market downturns and personal financial stress, and ensure that your plan is tailored to your changing needs and circumstances.

To find out if financial planning could benefit you financially and emotionally, contact our Guildford Office directly.

To contact or read more about Faye Church, visit her biography here.