A new online community now lets members of the public engage directly with financial advisers free of charge and have their money questions answered. MoneyFlex has been created by unbiased.co.uk, the UK’s favourite place to find financial and legal advisers.
MoneyFlex is designed to give people new insights into the world of financial advice and greater access to the information they need. The community enables people to put questions directly to IFAs (anonymously if they wish), on any topic relating to money, financial planning or advice itself. Responses from advisers will appear within 24 hours, and both questions and answers will remain public to provide a live forum of financial information and tips, giving the public clearer insights into the advice process.
Research* by unbiased.co.uk found that 58% of UK adults have not taken independent advice on any area of their finances. Furthermore, 34 per cent of those who have purchased or arranged a financial product without taking independent advice have later regretted the decision, rising to 41 per cent of males and 47 per cent of people in their twenties. The MoneyFlex community is a response to this ‘advice gap’, providing a window onto financial advice for those who want to find out more about it.
Karen Barrett, chief executive of unbiased.co.uk, commented: ‘We’re thrilled to bring MoneyFlex to the public at this important time. There’s so much happening right now in the world of personal finance – whether you’re a first-time buyer, a retiree or anything in between, there are big changes to get your head around and major challenges to think about. We want to start breaking down the barriers that deter people from seeking advice, raising awareness of the value of advice and building trust between advisers and the public. Users may go on to decide they need full financial advice, or they may not, but at least they’ll have had a chance to find out.
‘We trialled MoneyFlex last year for just a week and had a brilliant response, both from the members of the public who asked questions and from the advisers who provided such well thought-out answers. Now it’s going to be a permanent feature at unbiased.co.uk, and we expect it to become in time one of the most popular routes by which people discover independent financial advice. It’s another big step towards closing the advice gap.’
ENDS
Notes to editors:
*Unbiased.co.uk research conducted by Opinium between 13-16 November 2015, among 2,006 nationally representative UK adults aged 18+.
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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: Alliance Trust, Aviva, AXA Wealth, Canada Life Ltd, Legal & General, MetLife, Opinium Research, Prudential, Royal London and Standard Life Assurance
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Category: Value of Advice Tagged: MoneyFlex
