More than a quarter of financial advisers (27%) are working longer hours compared with a year ago, some more than two hours extra each day.

That was the conclusion of a new report by Prudential, assessing how hard professionals are working.

The research found that, at the extreme end of the scale, one in 25 advisers (four per cent) were clocking up more than 70 hours each working week, meaning they are working an average of a 14-hour day for a five-day week, or 10 hours a day if they are working on weekends too. See table below for more.

Four per cent of those advisers working within the pensions sector said they were working more than 70 hours a week. 

Some 28 per cent of those questioned and who advise on the highest amount of assets under management (£50 million and upwards) were working longer hours.

This compared to just 24 per cent of those advising on assets of less than £10 million. Researchers said this indicated that those with more assets have been increasingly looking at complex ways of investing their assets, or diversifying more across tax wrappers and assets.

However, at the other end of the spectrum, one in five (19 per cent) advisers said they were working fewer hours than a year ago, with 12 per cent working less than 30 hours each week.

The report stated: “Financial advisers are working harder than ever before for their fees. We have already seen that clients are demanding more and more from them in terms of the need for specific advice – this is mirrored by our findings, which show the majority of advisers are working longer hours than ever before.

“We expect advisers to continue working longer hours. We have seen the pressures they are working under – and these pressures show no sign of easing.

“While we have seen they will be working longer hours, they will need to use this time to ensure they continue to engage with a changing audience and make themselves available to their clients.”

Further analysis revealed that advisers spent an average of 1 hour and 42 minutes each week on continual professional development, and 1 hour and 54 minutes a week on client meetings that do not result in new business.