The advice gap: How you can help to transform the industry

In simple terms, the advice gap is defined as the difference between those who have and have not paid for financial advice in the last two years. Many individuals in the UK are still unaware of the support they have access to, marking this as a real and persistent issue for our industry.

Royal London recently sponsored the lang cat’s Advice Gap 2025 report. Now in its 10th year, this is the definitive study into the causes of the advice gap and how the availability and adoption of advice could be improved.

Below, we’ve summarised the key learnings and revealed how these insights can help you to make the most of your offering and deliver value to even more clients across the UK.

How do consumers experience the advice gap?

The Advice Gap Report undertook consumer research of 2,045 UK consumers, who offered feedback on their experience and opinions of financial advice.

1. The barriers to seeking advice

The driving factor for consumers not seeking advice was financial. The report found that only 9% of UK adults have paid for financial advice in the last two years, down from 11% in 2023, with 34% stating that financial advice is too expensive to consider.

Trust was another significant issue for respondents. In the over-45s group, 27% of respondents said they lack trust in advisers, compared to 24% overall. 29% of 45 to 54-year-olds were unsure where to find a good adviser compared to 24% overall, further exacerbating this feeling of lack of trust.

There is a clear barrier between advisers and consumers, highlighting an even greater need for advisers to advocate for themselves and the services they offer.

2. Referrals are important when selecting an adviser

The majority of respondents who took advice did so on the recommendation of a friend, family member or trusted colleague, highlighting the importance of referrals to encourage advice uptake. This was particularly important for female respondents, who were much more likely to rely on a referral than on their own research.

If you are not yet harnessing the power of referrals from your existing clients, there are a few steps you can take to ensure that you stay front of mind for future customers. Guides, leaflets and referral cards can all be left with your existing clients to ensure they have something to share with friends and family.

3. Consumers don’t understand the value of advice

The customers who were paying for advice believed that their advice was valuable. However, for customers who were not paying for advice, a perceived lack of value represented the biggest barrier in seeking services. In addition, 69% of the population felt confident in selecting products and services for themselves.

As an adviser, it’s therefore important to highlight the value that you can deliver to potential clients, from guidance around the services you offer, to case studies that highlight prior client success.

What are the insights from advisers?

Alongside significant consumer input, the lang cat took insight from over 1,600 advisers in their research.

Consumer Duty regulations

Consumer Duty regulation is an essential development for equity release advisers, but a majority of advisers believed that the introduction of Consumer Duty has made it harder for them to serve clients with a low amount of investable assets.

Over a third of firms have had to off board clients as a direct result of Consumer Duty, with advisers citing stricter regulation, financial viability and technology-based time constraints as some of the key reasons for this change.

Preference for face-to-face consultation

In the over-55s sector, consumers showed an overwhelming preference for face-to-face financial consultation, with 31% of over 55s also unwilling to use smartphone apps to manage their finances.

One area where technology could, perhaps, provide a solution is the issue of clients with simple needs, with advisers agreeing that they would value a digital solution to help incubate clients with a simple advised service to reflect the client’s relatively straightforward needs.

Recruitment is affecting the industry

The report found that advisers see recruitment as an issue for the sector, with 44% of advisers agreeing that recruitment is a significant problem, given that existing advisers are unable to meet demand.

Some existing advisers expressed the strain they feel of servicing too many cases, in some circumstances needing to fill the role of paraplanner alongside their own. Findings suggested that the sustainability of quality advice is on a decline, if something cannot be done to support existing advisers.

What can you do?

As an equity release adviser, there are a few things that you can do to help reduce the advice gap and serve more clients

1. Market yourself to potential clients

If you have the capacity to take on clients with lower value portfolios, your marketing strategy has the potential to help you reach more clients. Many customers expressed uncertainty around what advisers can support with, so prioritise addressing alternatives to equity release or other later-life lending solutions, establishing your services clearly from the outset.

It’s also important to consider all the methods by which advice can be found. Along with marketing yourself for referrals, you can leave materials with organisations that support over 55s and advertise online to optimise your reach.

2. Provide educational resources

Whether you are working with a potential or current client, providing access to a variety of free educational resources is important to ensure that clients have a full understanding of their financial options.

Some lenders will offer marketing support if you don’t know where to start. To learn about our full range of resources, check out our guide to the marketing materials we offer, including simple customer guides and customer case studies.

3. Take advantage of better tech

The lang cat report found that advisers feel they will be able to increase capacity by 38% if regulatory, tech, and process barriers are removed. With our new Broker Portal, you can benefit from simplified tech with a streamlined case-to-application journey. We’ve improved our technology to improve your experience, and it has never been easier to place an application with us.

Find out more about our Broker Portal

Learn more about the advice gap

You can download the full report today by clicking the link below.

Read the Langcat report now