The update on the Advice/Guidance Boundary Review in the Mansion House speech “offers hope” on closing the advice gap, with retirement and pensions the most likely financial issues people will seek advice on, according to Hargreaves Lansdown.

Following the speech last week (14 November), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) outlined its next steps for the review, including a consultation on targeted support for pensions in December.

Hargreaves Lansdown found that people were most likely to want help from an adviser on pensions and retirement, with 27 per cent of survey respondents saying this was the case.

This was followed by advice on investment rules (24 per cent), specific investment ideas (23 per cent), savings (19 per cent), debts (14 per cent), and general money worries (12 per cent).

While advisers were people’s top choice for information on pensions and investments, websites of financial companies were the second most likely place for people to seek information on these topics.

Hargreaves Lansdown stated that this showed there were more people that wanted advice than who could actually get it.

The consultancy noted that if an individual cannot cover the cost of getting professional support, there was a risk people were being left to make decisions they do not feel able to tackle alone.

Furthermore, guidance from financial companies’ websites needs to be generic, meaning that people may not be getting the advice needed on their specific circumstances.

“When you’re overwhelmed by something tricky in your financial life, there’s an enormous amount of comfort that comes from being able to ask an expert,” commented Hargreaves Lansdown head of personal finance, Sarah Coles.

“It’s why so many people say if they could ask anyone about issues from pensions to investment and savings to debt, they’d turn to an adviser.

“But not everyone can afford advice. Only around one in 10 people get it, and in some cases, it might not even be the best solution for them at that time if all they need is a steer in the right direction.

“It’s why it’s so important the government and the FCA make progress on allowing more personalised guidance from financial companies – as an alternative to paying for advice. It’s also why it was so positive that Rachel Reeves mentioned the ‘transformational change’ of the advice/guidance barrier in her Mansion House speech.”

Hargreaves Lansdown head of government affairs and public policy, Anne Fairweather, stated: “It’s extremely welcome that the Mansion House speech confirmed we’re getting transformational change on this.

“The FCA will consult on the issues surrounding more targeted guidance relating to pensions at the end of this year and retail investment at the start of 2025.

“Hargreaves Lansdown has been campaigning for this for years, because the current boundary stands in the way of being able to help clients achieve the outcomes they’re after without a price tag.

“We know that there is more we could do to drive good outcomes for clients, if we were able to personalise the guidance they receive. Whether it’s helping a client to understand retirement options or which investment path to take, allowing for greater relevancy and personalisation will help us all manage our finances more efficiently.”

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