New research says advisers want to work with accountants

Closer collaboration with accountants is the way forward for advisers, says new research from Prudential.

The pension provider found that more than two-thirds of the advisers who took part thought that working more closely with accountants would help their business, both in terms of individual directors and big companies.

SMEs

Nearly half of the advisers also told Prudential that they thought working with accountants would help them get more work with SMEs in the UK.

Prudential interviewed 120 IFAs at the end of August via an online poll and found that following the government's recent pension reforms, advisers now put tax planning issues higher on their agenda.

The new rules around pension pots give more freedom for savers to access their funds after the age of 55. This has been reflected in the fact that almost half of the advisors that took part in the poll said they wanted more training on technical taxation issues.

Freedom

Director of business development at Prudential, Vince Smith-Hughes, commented: "Pension freedom has underlined the importance of independent financial advice and massively raised its profile among major firms, directors and SMEs."

"Markets which might have been closed before are potentially opening up but there is realisation that advisers may need additional expertise. Working with the ICAEW financial services faculty, we hope to explore the opportunities presented by pension freedom legislation for advisers and accountants," he explained.

Prudential is also joining with accounting body the ICAEW to host a free seminar series on the topic of professional connections over the next three months.