Some 8.6 million UK adults aged between 35 and 70 hold at least £20,000 in investible assets but do not pay for financial advice, a new report from the lang cat has revealed.
The Advice Gap in 2026 report seeks to put a figure on the ‘affluent advice gap’; people who have £20,000 or more in investible assets, are the right age but are not being served by an advice proposition.
According to the findings, this unadvised segment of the UK population holds an estimated £1.21 trillion in investible assets and another £392 billion in defined contribution pension wealth.
The lang cat said a second larger group, but smaller in terms of addressable wealth, sits below that bar, with an estimated 15.4 million adults with less than £20,000 in investible assets holding around £63.8 billion between them.
The research found the most common reason among those who do not access regulated financial advice is cost, with 28% of respondents citing this. Self-reliance is close behind, with 25% saying they can look after their own money.
Two thirds (68%) of those who have not paid for advice in the past two years say they are unlikely to do so, with 45% of those with an income above £70,000 also stating they would be unlikely to seek advice. At the same time, 16% of adults in households earning more than £70,000 did not access advice but said they needed it, up from 14% last year.
Despite the Retail Distribution Review coming into effect almost 14 years ago, more than three quarters (78%) of those who have not paid for advice in the past two years are concerned that advice may be influenced by the adviser earning commission.
Mark Polson, CEO of the lang cat, said: “Everyone in this industry agrees the advice gap is a problem, but the real issue is everyone means something slightly different by it. We wanted to put a number on the part of it that commercial businesses could do something about. These aren’t small numbers we’re talking about: 8.6 million people, £1.61 trillion between them, and no adviser within earshot.
“The finding that should make everybody sit up and pay attention is the 78% who are concerned that advice might be influenced by advisers earning commission. Advisers have not been able to take commission in 14 years.”
Amal Jolly, CEO of Saturn, sponsors of the report, said developments in technology can help to deliver advice to more people.
“For advice firms, the lang cat’s estimate of 8.6 million unadvised adults holding £1.61 trillion points to a substantial opportunity to bring financial planning to more families. With 28% of those not accessing advice citing cost, making advice more affordable has to be part of the answer.
“AI operating systems can help firms reduce the cost and complexity of delivering advice, making it commercially viable to serve more people. They can also give advisers more time to understand each family and support them through the financial decisions that shape their lives.”
Main image: luke-chesser-eICUFSeirc0-unsplash
