Article by Phil
According to recommendations website Vouched for the answer is yes. In their latest survey Vouched for found that 99% of clients said that they would make Independent Financial Adviser recommendations.
Great news. But in reality, less than 40% actually did make Independent Financial Adviser recommendations about their adviser. This is important because the best new clients always come from existing client recommendations. Almost half of all our clients find us through recommendations. The rest find us either through Google search or by using Vouched For. We’ve been on the Vouched for website since 2014 and have been a top-rated adviser every year since.
Last year we were rated 13th out of over 1,500 advisers, based on the number of ratings we have had from happy clients. We also have over 130 Testimonials on our website from clients who have taken the time to drop us a line to thank us for our service. We are very grateful that they took the time to make those Independent Financial Adviser recommendations about us.
The Vouched for survey also looked at clients understanding of the fees they were charged. 90% said that they understood the fees and the adviser was clear about the charges. However, on closer questioning only just over 40% could explain how the fees worked. Interestingly of those who did understand how the fees were calculated over half had decided to become clients. The inference being that a clear understanding of fees and charges is an important part of the advice process. We agree.
Feedback on Vouched For, Google, Facebook and in writing is becoming more and more important. Not just because it can help people get a better idea about firms. But because it helps to identify those firms who provide a great service to their clients. This is an important part of the new Consumer Duty and demonstrates good practice.
