Almost four in ten financial advisers have reported a decrease in the number of clients looking to engage their services since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report.

Whilst three in ten financial advisers have seen an increase in the number of new clients, most have seen fewer new clients approaching them as the pandemic started to negatively impact the economy, according to a survey of 128 Personal Finance Society (PFS) members.

Three out of ten of the advisers polled said the number of new clients approaching them since March was similar to the number of people who knocked on their doors asking for help managing their finances in the same period in 2019.

Keith Richards, chief executive of the PFS, said: “With the current level of uncertainty over markets and the future of the economy, clients need more reassurance than ever that they are on the right track, and that they are getting personalised, relevant financial advice that cuts through the noise that they are hearing on in social and traditional media. 

“However, financial advisers are responding to this challenge, making more use of digital channels, and using their existing client base to establish and develop new relationships.”

128 financial advisers were polled by the PFS in October 2020.