Financial advisers marginally favour remaining within the European Union, but more than a quarter are undecided on the issue, according to a survey for the Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA).
With just over three weeks to go until the UK referendum on its membership of the EU, new research conducted by NMG for APFA has indicated a slight majority of support for remain in the referendum, with 4 in 10 saying they will vote to remain in the EU and 24 per cent saying they will vote for Brexit, with a further 26 per cent saying that they are undecided.
The survey also found that just over a third of advisers – 34 per cent – have clients that reside outside the UK but within the EU, either permanently or splitting their time between residences in the UK and elsewhere.
APFA director-general Chris Hannant says: “I was interested to see the results of our survey; both the views of the financial adviser community regarding voting intentions and the high proportion of ‘undecideds’ broadly mirror the polling trends amongst the UK voting population more generally.
“Advisers deal with the outcomes and impact of policy and regulatory developments at an EU level on a daily basis on behalf of their clients. This is the case both in terms of specific regulations, such as MiFID II or PRIIPs, but also the broader consequences for financial markets. Regardless of the referendum outcome, advisers will need to ensure they have appropriate strategies in place which ensure clients, in the UK and the EU, are protected by the effects of the vote on markets in both the short- and long-term.
“I also believe that advisers will need to continue to prepare for MiFID II and PRIIPs even if the UK public decide to vote to leave. I expect an arrangement that continued to give the UK access to the single market would mean acceptance of the market harmonisation legislation.”
