Advisers urged to avoid ‘mediocre’ managers

The former Credit Suisse investment banker, who has written several books on finance, told Good Returns the financial services industry will come under cost pressure in the next few years as consumers start to demand better value for money.

He said financial adviser fees would be tested and advisers would have to prove to consumers that they were adding value.

Heathcote, a marketer and distributor for a handful of boutique fund managers, is running a "meet the managers" forum next month and Coplestone said the response to the event highlighted the growing divide in the advisory industry.

"The people we have attracted are mainly advisers who have little or no institutional alignment who are looking to add value and build a more robust value proposition for their clients, and as a gross generalisation they tend to operate in a more sophisticated client base.