Fraser Donaldson: How the financial adviser market uses DFMs

'A bit of smoke and mirrors'

clock • 4 min read

Every 12 months for the last five years Defaqto has conducted a satisfaction survey among advisers to measure the service standards in the discretionary market, and so Fraser Donaldson shares a few of the results here...

As well as measuring the service standards in the discretionary market in our annual survey we also take the opportunity to ask a few supplementary questions to give us a feel for what advisers are doing in terms of investing for their clients.  It is barely five years since pension freedoms flexibility came in to force. Back then, it was accumulate as much wealth as possible to purchase an annuity. Now, alternative investment solutions can be selected in order to provide an income during retirement. While there is some certainty of income with an annuity, investing in risk based alterna...

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 Investment

Chris Justham: All I know about love and the next 12 months

Chris Justham: All I know about love and the next 12 months

'There's power in admitting that you don't know'

Chris Justham
clock 22 January 2026 • 2 min read
Rathbones looks for growth after year of internal focus during Investec merger

Rathbones looks for growth after year of internal focus during Investec merger

Growth in funds under management and administration to £115.6bn

Eve Maddock-Jones
clock 15 January 2026 • 3 min read
Brooks Macdonald returns to positive flows in Q2

Brooks Macdonald returns to positive flows in Q2

Funds under management/advice now top £20bn

Jenna Brown
clock 15 January 2026 • 2 min read