unbiased.co.uk reveals hourly fees for financial advice have decreased by 14% over the last year

unbiased.co.uk reveals hourly fees for financial advice have decreased by 14% over the last year

• unbiased.co.uk publishes up-to-date information on fees charged to consumers for financial advice 
• Fee charged for an initial financial review remains static from 2013 at £500
• Fees for common advice scenarios remain largely unchanged compared to 12 months ago
• Useful guides and tools for consumers looking for financial advice on www.unbiased.co.uk

unbiased.co.uk, the ‘find an adviser’ search, today publishes up-to-date charging benchmarks on financial advice fees to inform consumers of the likely costs involved in some common professional advice scenarios.

unbiased.co.uk’s research, conducted among advisers listed on the site, reveals a decrease in the median hourly rate charged by advisers, from £175 per hour in 2013, down 14% to £150 per hour in 2014. However, whilst the hourly charge has gone down, fees for various specific advice scenarios have remained largely static over the last two years.

Advice scenarios and fees charged*:

Case study

Looking at a more complicated advice scenario, advisers would typically charge £3,500 for advising a client (including estate planning) with a £200,000 SIPP, £100,000 of investments, income from a DB pension scheme and a buy to let property with a value of £250,000.

Whilst advisers recommend beginning to plan for retirement at least 15 years in advance, even at-retirement advice will have a significant impact on income, with advisers estimating that they would increase their clients’ income by an average of 28% if they sought advice at the point of retirement.**

Karen Barrett, Chief Executive of unbiased.co.uk, comments:

“Consumers can have the preconception that professional advice is not applicable to their financial situation and that the cost of advice will be unaffordable for them. It can also be difficult to find relevant information on typical costs for common advice scenarios. This research enables consumers to have a clear idea of the cost of advice, and used together with our checklist for consumers who are choosing a financial adviser ‘Find the right adviser checklist’ will ultimately help them find the right adviser for their particular needs at the right cost.

“As with any professional adviser, costs are only relevant in terms of the benefit realised. We would urge consumers to not only understand costs but also the level of service they will receive, so as to make a judgment on which adviser delivers best value for money overall. Our recent Value of Advice research found that those who had taken advice receive an additional income of £3,654 every year of their retirement, based upon a pension pot of £100,000 – a clear demonstration of the benefit of taking professional advice. To find a whole of market financial adviser visit www.unbiased.co.uk.”

Unbiased.co.uk lists over 15,000 IFAs and whole of market financial advisers and the site offers a range of tools and information, helping consumers to make sense of the advice choices available to them.

ENDS

Notes to editors:
The Cost of Advice guide with typical costs for common advice scenarios can be viewed at unbiased.co.uk/cost-of-advice-guide
*unbiased.co.uk research carried out in Sep 12 (309 unbiased.co.uk advisers), Apr 13 (166 unbiased.co.uk advisers) and Oct 2014 (140 advisers)
**unbiased.co.uk surveyed 217 advisers in July 2014.

For more information contact:
Kate Aitchinson/ Sarah Tye, Lansons: 020 7294 3682

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About unbiased.co.uk, the professional advice website

Unbiased.co.uk is the UK's most comprehensive free professional adviser search website, focused on empowering users with the resources they need to make better informed financial and legal decisions. We not only help consumers and businesses find the best adviser for their needs from over 20,000 IFAs, financial advisers, mortgage advisers, solicitors and accountants listed on our search but we also help them research the market by providing relevant information and tools. At unbiased.co.uk we like to be transparent about what we do and aim to provide the easiest way for consumers to find and compare advisers meeting their requirements.

The unbiased.co.uk website launched in 1998 and rapidly became the UK’s leading online destination for consumers and businesses looking to find an adviser. Now attracting over one million visitors a year, unbiased.co.uk is the default adviser directory for consumer websites recommending their audience to ‘find an adviser’.

Unbiased Ltd promotes the benefits of financial and legal advice to consumers and businesses and would like to thank the following companies for their support:

Unbiased Ltd - Registered Office: 12-14 Berry St, London, EC1V 0AU. Registered in England: No. 06775878.