Is the golden age of advice just around the corner?

One thing that has hindered advisers for almost a decade is legislative uncertainty, but this could change next year, founder and director of Forte Asset Solutions, Steve Prendeville, said.

Speaking to ifa, Mr Prendeville explained that legislative uncertainty has “frozen the industry for many years”.

“My hope after the quality review is that the clouds are going to be shifted. We’ll know where we are on commissions, on insurance. We’ll know what the landscape is, and that confidence will come back. People will be able to reinvest confidently, back into their businesses,” he said.

“It will be really the first time for almost a decade, that we’ve got legislative certainty. It’s with that, that you can start to make plans with a great level of confidence,” Mr Prendeville continued.

Over the past several years, advisers have been “shaken to the core”, he said.

“It has been a seismic change within a short period of time, and it’s come at great cost,” Mr Prendeville noted.

What’s now fueling Mr Prendeville’s optimism for next year is a recent Core Data masurvey which portrayed rising sentiment in the industry.

“It’s a multi-factored optimism. I am perpetually a ‘full-glass’ sort of guy. But I think that we’ve got really good data, to actually suggest that this is a period of time where we can start to invest or reinvest into our businesses with confidence,” he said.

“There’s a lot of capital around. Banks are still lending as required. I think we’re starting to lose that — hopefully — that ‘battening-down-the-hatches’ mentality, because we’ve just been not knowing what's next around the corner.

“This has the potential of being a golden age. We’ve got core professionals. We’ve got really good businesses. We’ve got good delivery systems. Yes, we’re being challenged in areas of cost, and we’ll continue to. Yes, our fees are going up. But the need for good advice has never been greater,” he concluded.

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