More than half of adults in the UK would say the financial crisis caused by COVID-19 has prompted them to seek advice from a financial adviser, according to a new study.

Prudential UK found that 53% of UK adults have been prompted to seek advice, while 85% of respondents also suggested they have financial concerns when thinking about the next 12 months.

The findings, which come from Prudential UK’s Family Wealth Unlocked report and were based on a representative sample of 1,000 advised families, revealed that of the 53% who have been prompted to seeking financial advice, a third (33%) have already sought advice.

Another 20% were found to be planning to seek advice, while for those who said they aren’t seeking it, 15% said they they still might do in the future.

Prudential UK director of specialist business support, Vince Smith-Hughes, commented: “It’s been a challenging 12 months for UK adults up and down the country and this has stimulated the need for advice, be it because of pent-up cash levels, market volatility or job security.

“While the need for advice spans all generations, our research reveals the pandemic appears to have created a pronounced opportunity for advisers to provide advice to younger audiences.
 
“While many assume cost is a barrier to advice, this does not appear to be the case in COVID-times – for any of the five generations interviewed. In fact, only 3% of the sample overall said they’d like to see an adviser but couldn’t afford to. Hopefully this research also acts as a wake-up call to those who don’t currently take advice that many of them could benefit from doing so.”

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