The expectation gap: Why suitable advice can still fail the client

'The industry is moving from suitability, to understanding and now to expectation management'

clock • 4 min read

Client expectations are shifting faster than advice processes. Suitability also now depends whether client understanding, values and investment reality remain aligned over time, say Elly Dowding and Lee Coates

Financial advice has always assumed a degree of continuity. Clients stay. Relationships transfer. Suitability holds over time. Recently that assumption is starting to break down — research suggests that more than half of next-generation clients plan to leave their adviser. That is not simply a generational shift — it is a signal that expectations are changing, and advice models need to keep up. At the centre of this is a widening gap between what advice delivers and how clients experience it. When suitability isn't enough A portfolio can meet every traditional suitability metric:...

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

Succession Alliance launches first profession-wide succession survey

Succession Alliance launches first profession-wide succession survey

Open to people in all roles working in financial planning firms

Sophia Panayi
clock 29 September 2026 • 1 min read
The future of our profession will benefit from greater collaboration

The future of our profession will benefit from greater collaboration

'The profession continues to operate and evolve in an environment of profound change'

Keith Richards
clock 28 September 2026 • 4 min read
Burnham to propose social care plans at general election

Burnham to propose social care plans at general election

Aims to be preventative

Jaskeet Briah
clock 28 September 2026 • 2 min read