The survey was carried out by Aegon, and the firm surveyed 252 UK-based financial advisors.

Around three quarters (74 per cent) of advisors have said people in the UK are not tackling their long term financial planning early enough, and have ranked it as the biggest threat to financial security in terms of retirement, according to Aegon’s Advisor Attitudes Report.

As wealth is starting to transfer into the hands of Millennials, which according to Accenture will be $30 trillion globally. Millennials will need to think about their financial affairs. This publication is regularly interviewing firms on their strategies to attract Millennials, such as Julius Baer and BNY Mellon’s Pershing.

During June, financial services firm Aegon, in association with Opinium, surveyed 252 UK financial advisors to discuss the attitudes and concerns of the UK financial advisor market.  According to Aegon’s report, just over three quarters of advisors’ clients (78 per cent) are aged over 45; therefore a change needs to happen to break the cycle.

Only one advisor in nine (11 per cent) is already looking to close the advice gap and target younger people so that they understand the benefits of investing early. However this early engagement is not always straightforward, with a third of advisors (33 per cent) stating that they find it a real challenge to reach this younger group. 

One factor making the challenge increasingly difficult is the current economic environment and rising inflation. Aegon’s inflation research saw them interview over 617 advised customers on Aegon’s customer and consumer panel, which revealed that two thirds (62 per cent) of those aged 18 to 30 reported rising prices have left them with less money at the end of the month than they had six months ago, and they are also far more likely than other age brackets to be diverting money away from savings. 

More than half (52 per cent) of those aged 18-30 have had to reduce their monthly savings to help with the increased cost of day-to-day living. Therefore Millennials are not thinking too much about savings because they do not have enough to see them through to their next pay day.

However as much as financial restraints may be an issue according to Aegon, there is not a clear idea of what Millennials want in terms of financial advice. A regular, and seems the only, association which is linked to the generation is their want to do financial planning via technology. More firms may have to start asking questions why they are not getting more younger clients through the door, and what is the firm’s marketing stance towards this age group.

Aegon thinks it has found a way to attract these clients. It found that advisors believe streamlined advice, which focuses on a particular need, has a role to play in attracting a younger client base, with nearly seven out of ten (68 per cent) of advisors considering it a useful way of attracting younger clients. 

“There have been huge strides in getting more people saving for retirement with nearly 8 million people now saving for retirement through auto-enrolment,” said Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon. “This includes younger age groups and while many under the age of 45 are now saving regularly, they may be doing so without fully understanding how best to meet their long term financial goals. Advisors have a key role to play, providing valuable advice on a wide range of elements, including setting appropriate contribution levels and advising where to invest to meet long term aims.

Cameron added: “By engaging with savers early in their financial journey, advisors can put them on the right track. Advice needs differ with life stage so it’s important to offer relevant and timely insights and support, with technology offering new opportunities.”

In the UK, Aegon offers retirement, workplace savings and protection solutions to around two million customers, and employs more than 3,450 staff.