NextWealth Financial Advice Business Benchmarks Report 2025 - Report - Page 6
NextWealth Financial Advice Business Benchmarks Report / October 2025
Employees of 昀椀nancial advice 昀椀rms are less con昀椀dent that their
昀椀rms are set up to innovate and adapt to change. Three years
on, Consumer Duty remains the biggest driver of change (see
section 4), and its ongoing requirement to monitor outcomes
and evidence compliance looks to be a major factor denting
con昀椀dence. Ongoing monitoring and evidencing obligations
are operationally demanding and, as we explore in section
3, many 昀椀rms continue to struggle with data quality and MI,
which makes meeting the Duty more uncertain.
昀椀rms are working with remains broadly unchanged year-onyear (see sec琀椀on 1: Clients).
Con昀椀dence in the quality of technology that underpins advice
remains low, with just 13% of 昀椀nancial advice professionals
fully con昀椀dent that current tools truly support their work.
As last year, con昀椀dence levels are lowest in areas driven by
external factors. These include the capability of the regulator
and stability of the economy, in which only 9% of respondents
expressed full con昀椀dence. Compared with 2024 however,
con昀椀dence in the regulator has picked up slightly.
Con昀椀dence in the ability to attract new clients has dipped
slightly, even though the actual number of new clients advice
Figure 1: Con昀椀dence is highest in 昀椀nancial advisers’ career prospects and their ability to deliver good value to their clients
1 - Not con昀椀dent at all
2
3
4
5 - Fully con昀椀dent
Q How con昀椀dent are you in the following factors?
Against that backdrop, it’s striking that con昀椀dence is
strongest where it matters most: clients. Advisers rate their
ability to understand, serve and deliver value to clients at 4.3
out of 5 - the highest of the engine components.
Next, we explore what 昀椀nancial advice professionals told us about their client pro昀椀les and pipelines,
and how they are adapting to meet changing needs.
6
