Aviva’s Hot Issue Tracker research revealed that greater confidence has encouraged 26% of intermediaries to focus on increasing profitability.
A further 18% have been encouraged to develop their business models, while 42% of advisers believe their revenue will increase over the next three months.
New technology has been cited as one of the key factors behind boosting business profitability, with 10% of advisers planning to install new technology.
Simon Bradley, director of intermediary at Aviva, said: “After a period of significant stability, it is encouraging to learn that advisers are feeling more confident about the economic and political climate.
“The fact that a growing number of advisers are actively looking to develop their business models shows the extent to which the industry is looking to the future. It is also interesting to see the increasing number of advisers looking to adopt technology to drive business profitability.”
The research also found that 35% of advisers felt that generating new client leads was most important to their business over the next three months.
They also thought that personal relationships were key, with 86% finding referrals from previous clients as the best way to generate new business.
However, 42% said that they also relied on referrals from other professional advisers, such as accountants and solicitors, compared to 18% in June this year.
With the growing number of intermediaries looking to develop their business models ahead of the FSA’s Retail Distribution Review, the number of advisers who said the size of their business will either remain the same size, or will expand or diversify was 86%.
