Perception of advisers needs to change to close advice gap - OpenMoney report

'Expensive' and 'untrustworthy'

Tom Ellis
clock • 1 min read

Research commissioned by OpenMoney has found that the public’s perception of financial advisers might be the reason why so few people take regulated financial advice.

The online advice service company's research, carried out in conjunction with YouGov, found many British people associated negative words with the term financial advice. Frequent words used to describe financial advice of the 2,081 polled included ‘expensive', ‘untrustworthy', as well as more aggressive terms like ‘rip off', ‘con', ‘scam' and ‘money grabbing'. That said, positive words were used, such as ‘help', ‘expert', ‘trust' and ‘managing money', but these were largely outweighed by the negatives, OpenMoney said. The poll found one-in-10 (10%) of the 2,000 respondents had taken p...

To continue reading this article...

Join Professional Adviser for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
  • Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
  • Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
  • Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
  • Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
  • Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes

Join

 

Already a Professional Adviser member?

Login

More on Your profession

Feel Good Friday: Castlefield partner expands not-for-profit refill hubs across Cheshire

Feel Good Friday: Castlefield partner expands not-for-profit refill hubs across Cheshire

Project run by Eco Communities

Professional Adviser
clock 15 May 2026 • 1 min read
Closing the advice gap: The case for attitudinal targeted support

Closing the advice gap: The case for attitudinal targeted support

TISA’s Sophie Legrand-Green on a ‘significant’ way to influence consumer behaviour

Sophie Legrand-Green
clock 14 May 2026 • 4 min read
Women in Financial Advice Awards 2026: All the nominations!

Women in Financial Advice Awards 2026: All the nominations!

More than 1,150 women from 450 firms were nominated for WIFA 2026

Professional Adviser
clock 14 May 2026 • 29 min read