L&G research claims credit crunch is to blame
Adviser optimism is down due to the credit crunch, according to the latest research conducted by Legal & General.
The Adviser Confidence Index revealed a change in intermediaries' attitudes over the last three months. Stephen Smith, director of housing at the provider, said the report showed a marked difference in sentiment with a 50% drop in advisers predicting better sales next month and far more saying protection business will be flat or worse than in the previous quarter.
Key findings showed the proportion of advisers saying business will be better over the next quarter has almost halved from 60% to 33%. The proportion saying it will get worse has more than doubled from 16% to 33%.
One in five advisers expected protection sales to be worse next quarter against 13% in the Q1 Adviser Confidence Index survey. Also, 39% expected sales to remain constant compared to 29% in the last report.
The findings revealed the general feeling on protection sales was better than for overall business with 41% expecting an improvement over the next three months.
Smith added it was the ideal time for mortgage advisers to turn to protection to plug the income gap. According to the report, protection must be seen as a priority area for advisers experiencing a drop in income from mortgage sales.
The Q2 Adviser Confidence Index report was based on research conducted with 285 advisers.
