Advisers 'underestimate' number of financially vulnerable clients

'Be the safe pair of hands they need'

Julia Bahr
clock • 3 min read

Financial advisers are largely underestimating the number of clients that could qualify as vulnerable under the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) guidelines, recent research from Technical Connection, part of St. James's Place (SJP), has shown.

The survey, conducted by Ad Lucem of 100 financial advisers, found that on average advisers estimate 18% of clients would qualify as vulnerable. However, research from the FCA showed that the number of UK adults considered to be financially vulnerable is 28 million, a figure that was less than 4 million before the pandemic started, whilst advisers estimated 11.7 million, creating a vulnerability gap. Financial advisers play an important part in restoring the nation's financial health by supporting those vulnerable clients in the best way possible, the regulator said. According to T...

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

'Don't think of consolidation as the end of independent advice. It isn't'

'Don't think of consolidation as the end of independent advice. It isn't'

Continuity before everything else

Tom Rowe-Jones
clock 02 September 2026 • 5 min read
SENDA calls on profession to share how it supports families with disabilities

SENDA calls on profession to share how it supports families with disabilities

Part of white paper launching in November

Isabel Baxter
clock 02 September 2026 • 2 min read
Plannex memberships boosted by 'out of the blue' Reddit influx

Plannex memberships boosted by 'out of the blue' Reddit influx

Without spending a penny on the social media platform

Isabel Baxter
clock 01 September 2026 • 5 min read