Half of financial advisers believe their clients would have less money this year than they will in 2022.
According to the study, which was conducted using Opinium’s IFA omnibus, only a third or 32 per cent of advisers believe their clients will be financially better off in 2023.
The cost-of-living crisis and rising inflation, according to more than 75 per cent of IFAs, will have the most impact on their clients this year, followed by market volatility that will affect investment returns (49 per cent) and uncertainties about the housing market and mortgage rates (39 per cent).
Almost a third, or 31 per cent, think that the reductions in the capital gains tax exemption would have an effect, and 16 per cent think that the reductions in the dividend tax exemption will also have an impact on their clients. A fifth, or 20 per cent, anticipate that increasing savings account interest rates will have a significant effect on their clients.
Opinium head of financial services research Alexa Nightingale says: “As interest rates are predicted to hit levels not seen since the 2008 financial crisis, it’s no surprise that a majority of financial advisers expect their clients to suffer financially this year. There is a range of factors impacting finances, from high inflation and the cost-of-living to tax allowance cuts, and advisers will have to navigate their clients through all of this in 2023.”