Aegon Adviser Attitudes Report 2021

Other key events conspired to raise the urgency of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in the minds of many. Devastating wildfires in Australia wiped out around one billion animals. The Black Lives Matter movement exploded once again following the killing of George Floyd. And governments, including the UK’s, set out their green timetables 1 . 41% of advisers reported an increase in queries about ESG investments, but cited some key barriers they faced in integrating ESG into their investment propositions. Given both regulatory change and client demand, this is likely to be an area of significant development in the coming years. In light of the hugely significant impact that world events have had, it might be easy to forget that firms are also adjusting to changes brought about by MIFID II and PROD legislation. 59% of advisers made changes to their investment propositions as a result, many of these aimed at simplifying investment solutions, changing client suitability processes and outsourcing to external providers. Advisers, at the sharp end, have clearly had a challenging year, and one that has required them to demonstrate their value to clients. This year’s research findings reflect this. I hope you find them insightful. 1 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-sets-ambitious-new-climate-target-ahead-of-un-summit Advisers have adapted to their clients’ changing priorities due to the pandemic Aegon adviser attitudes report 2021 5