A new headline reported by Financial Planning Today claims that only 19% of people would use a financial adviser. Predictably, the industry response is already forming: we need more trust campaigns, more education about advice, more marketing to rebuild confidence.
That interpretation is wrong.
Not slightly wrong. Structurally wrong.
Because the statistic is not a rejection of financial help.
It’s a rejection of a specific type of help.
The Misread That Happens Every Time
When survey data shows low demand for advisers, firms instinctively assume the problem is:
“Consumers don’t understand our value.”
But consumer behaviour tells a different story. People are not confused. They are making a rational distinction between two roles the industry keeps conflating:
| Role | Public perception |
|---|---|
| Adviser | Product intermediary |
| Planner | Life strategy partner |
The public has not rejected planning.
They’ve rejected intermediation.
The Language Problem Driving the Advice Gap
For decades, “financial advice” has meant recommending financial products under regulation from bodies like the Financial Conduct Authority. That definition shaped the commercial model:
- revenue tied to implementation
- compliance tied to product scope
- client interaction tied to transactions
The result? A professional identity built around distribution rather than design.
So when surveys ask:
“Would you use a financial adviser?”
Many respondents hear:
“Would you like someone to sell you financial products?”
The 19% figure suddenly looks less surprising.
The Real Shift Happening Beneath the Headlines
We are living through the largest structural change in financial decision-making since online banking.
Technology has quietly taken over the mechanical parts of planning:
- data gathering
- projections
- scenario testing
- optimisation modelling
These used to justify adviser fees. Now they’re increasingly automated.
Which means the scarce value is no longer calculation. It’s judgement.
And judgement is not a product function. It’s a human one.
What Consumers Actually Want Now
Modern consumers don’t want an intermediary standing between them and their money. They want:
- clarity when life changes
- perspective when stressed
- structure when uncertain
- alignment when making decisions
Those needs don’t appear during routine periods. They appear during transitions:
- career change
- divorce
- illness
- inheritance
- redundancy
- retirement
In those moments, they don’t want a salesperson.
They want a planner.
The Industry’s Strategic Blind Spot
Many firms still believe demand must be “stimulated” through trust messaging. But trust isn’t built through campaigns. It’s built through relevance.
If 80% wouldn’t use an adviser, the takeaway is not:
“We must persuade them.”
It’s:
“We must become useful in a different way.”
This is the difference between defending a model and evolving a profession.
The Three-Tier Future of Financial Support
What’s emerging is not the death of advice — it’s segmentation.
Tier 1 — Self-Directed Majority
People using AI and digital tools to plan independently.
Tier 2 — Supported Planners (fastest growing)
Individuals who self-manage most of the time but seek human input during major life decisions.
Tier 3 — Delegators (minority)
Clients who want full outsourcing due to complexity or preference.
The centre tier will dominate the future. And it doesn’t need product advisers.
It needs planners.
Why This Matters Right Now
Moments like this headline are inflection points.
Industries either:
- interpret signals correctly and evolve
or - misread signals and double down on legacy positioning
If firms interpret this statistic as a marketing problem, they will spend millions telling people to trust advisers.
If they interpret it correctly, they will redesign their value proposition around planning rather than selling.
Only one of those paths leads to relevance.
A Reframe the Profession Needs to Hear
The statistic does not say:
People don’t want financial help.
It says:
People don’t want financial intermediation.
That distinction changes everything.
The Opportunity Hidden Inside the Headline
For those willing to evolve, this is not a threat. It’s a generational opportunity.
The firms and professionals who thrive next will be those who reposition themselves as:
- decision partners
- life-strategy architects
- behavioural guides
- human clarity providers
Not distributors.
Organisations like the Academy of Life Planning have long argued that planning is a standalone profession — one that exists whether or not a product is ever purchased.
The market is now beginning to validate that view.
Final Word
This headline will be quoted widely in the coming weeks. Many will treat it as a crisis.
It isn’t.
It’s a signal.
And signals don’t ask for defence.
They ask for interpretation.
Those who understand what this one really means won’t be worried about the future of financial guidance.
They’ll be building it.
Transition from Adviser to Total Wealth Planner in 12 Weeks
If you can see where the profession is heading, you have a choice:
Stay in a shrinking intermediary role — or step into the future of planning.
The Total Wealth Planner Fast-Track is a focused 12-week transition designed for experienced professionals who want to evolve beyond product-centred advice and into holistic, client-centred planning.
In 12 weeks you’ll learn how to:
- reposition your professional identity from adviser to planner
- deliver structured life-aligned planning conversations
- use AI-supported tools to increase impact and efficiency
- build a values-driven, future-proof practice model
This isn’t theory.
It’s a practical pathway to the next chapter of your career.
If you feel the industry shifting beneath your feet, that’s not risk — it’s invitation.
➡️ Apply for a clarity call to see if Fast-Track is right for you.
Academy of Life Planning 