Three-quarters or 76 per cent of IFAs plan to retire in the next decade, with 31 per cent expected to retire in the next 2-5 years and 30 per cent planning to retire in the next 5-10 years, according to Opinium.
The survey reveals that three in five independent financial advisors (IFAs) have not informed their clients about their retirement plans for the next decade.
Two-fifths of IFAs intend to sell their company interest when they retire, while 16 per cent want to merge their company with a different, closely related business.
Three-fifths believe there are not enough IFAs entering the market to manage workloads, and over a quarter feel there are not enough IFAs who are specialists in necessary fields. Three-quarters believe there are not enough advisers entering the market to meet future demand.
Seven out of ten respondents believe that fewer customers would have access to financial advice, nearly half believe that consumers will suffer financially, and 36 per cent believe that particular disciplines of assistance will have less resources as a result of the shortage of IFAs.
More worryingly for the sector, 26 per cent of respondents believe that more IFAs will leave the field as a result of a lack of IFAs to handle the workload, 20 per cent believe that the calibre of IFA advice would deteriorate, and 18 per cent believe that robo-advice will gain popularity.
Greater marketing, greater training and development, financial incentives to enter the field, and financial incentives over the course of a career are the strongest motivations, according to IFAs, for luring more young people into the financial counselling profession.
Opinium head of financial services research Alexa Nightingale says: “Given the number of IFAs planning to retire in the next decade and the lack of IFAs joining the industry, there is no doubt that there is a growing concern on the future of the financial advice industry. In order to ensure that financial advice does not become less accessible, it is important that incentives are put in place to attract the younger generation to join the financial advice industry.”