As we look back on the time passed since the UK first went into lockdown one thing is abundantly clear \u2013 financially, the last couple of years have been good for some people. We\u2019re not talking about the billionaires who have seen their shares rocket during lockdown but rather the many, many people who have saved money by not commuting, not buying lunch from the sandwich shop and not going on holiday. Depending on which paper you read, people in the UK have \u2018accidently\u2019 saved anywhere between \u00a3100bn and \u00a3125bn during lockdown.<\/p>\n
At the opposite end of the spectrum, lockdown has been hard for millions of people as businesses have failed, jobs have been lost and they have been forced to rely on their savings.<\/p>\n
In both cases there has been a need for financial planning advice. In recent years it might have been assumed that fewer people would need financial advice as a new money management or savings and investing app came out virtually every other day.<\/p>\n
However, according to a recent report from Prudential, the exact opposite is the case. More than half \u2013 53% \u2013 of UK adults say that financial problems and changed circumstances over the last 12 months have caused them to seek financial advice. Of this figure, 33% have already sought financial advice, whilst the remaining 20% are planning to do so.<\/p>\n
For most of those responding to the survey the glass was, unfortunately, half-empty, with 85% of people saying they had concerns about the coming months, with the two concerns most frequently highlighted being: \u2018having to use savings to make ends meet\u2019 and \u2018my investments losing money.\u2019<\/p>\n
Interestingly, the report revealed that the need for financial advice was felt most among the younger generations \u2013 Millennials and Generation Z, exactly the generations we might have assumed would shun traditional advice in favour of apps and online portals.<\/p>\n
Seventy-four percent of Millennials said that they had, or were going to, see a financial adviser, with 58% of Generation Z echoing those sentiments. The key drivers for these generations were \u2018avoiding financial difficulties\u2019 and \u2018wanting to start their investment journey.\u2019<\/p>\n
Clearly recent months have been difficult. What they have illustrated is that financial planning advice will\u00a0always<\/i> be required and that people \u2013 of whatever generation \u2013 will always value face-to-face advice (even if that has been face to Zoom advice recently).<\/p>\n
Our clients can be rest assured that whatever happens with the pandemic \u2013 and now with the conflict in Eastern Europe \u2013 our commitment to providing the very best long-term financial planning advice will never waiver.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As we look back on the time passed since the UK first went into lockdown one thing is abundantly clear \u2013 financially, the last couple of years have been good for some people. We\u2019re not talking about the billionaires who have seen their shares rocket during lockdown but rather the many, many people who have saved money by not commuting, not buying lunch from the sandwich shop and not…<\/p>\n