If you’re a client, you’ll know how seriously we take our pledge to provide excellent advice and service.
While we were named as one of the top 100 UK financial advice companies by New Model Adviser in 2021, and a VouchedFor Top Rated Advice Firm in March 2022, we’re not resting on our laurels.
For this reason, we recently sent clients a questionnaire asking them to tell us what they think about our level of service, our company standards, and the advice we provide. If you’re one of them, and took the time and trouble to reply, thank you.
It’s essential for us to understand where we’re getting it right and where we can improve, so that we can continue to build on the high standards you’ve come to expect from us.
We’re delighted to report that overall, the feedback was extremely positive, and where there is room for improvement, steps have already been taken to ensure it happens.
Read on to discover what clients said, and how we intend to deliver even higher standards going forward.
100% of clients said working with us has, or will, help them reach their financial goals
We couldn’t be happier to learn that 100% of clients feel that working with us has helped, or will help, them achieve their financial goals.
Furthermore, everyone said that they would recommend Ardent to friends and family, with 60% saying they had done so in the last 12 months.
If you have recommended us, we would like to say thank you. Not only do recommendations help us build our business, passing us to your family and friends also tells us that you trust us and believe in what we do.
More than 98% of you said you were happy with our performance – but we want to do better
A key measure for us is satisfaction levels, so we’re delighted to say that the vast majority of you reported high levels of satisfaction with our service. Here’s what you said:
- 100% of clients were satisfied with the speed of response from their adviser
- 100% of clients were satisfied with the speed of response from our support team
- 98.31% of clients were satisfied that we understood their needs and objectives
- 98.31% of clients were satisfied with our communication between meetings
- 100% of clients were satisfied with their annual reviews.
While we’re thrilled with these numbers, where the score is less than 100% there is room for improvement. This is something we are already addressing.
Where the score was 100%, we will continue to strive for better.
You told us the top three subjects you want to discuss
The survey was also an opportunity to discover which areas of discussion are most important to you. You told us that the top three are:
- Discussing your long-term financial plans
- Investment performance since the last review meeting
- Updating us on changes to your financial and personal situation.
This feedback is important as we can keep it in mind during future meetings. That said, your priorities are unique to you and your circumstances, so we will always take them into account when working with you.
If there are other topics not mentioned above that you would like to discuss with us, please let us know.
Retirement planning provides challenges we can help with
The survey also provided an opportunity to learn about the most pressing financial concerns of clients who have retired, and those who have not yet done so. We were keen to understand whether there were similarities when it came to priorities and concerns.
The main concerns for those who have not yet retired were:
- Not having enough money to live their preferred lifestyle in retirement
- Not having enough money to retire at their preferred retirement age
- The level of investment returns.
The main concerns for those who have already retired were:
- Not having enough money to continue living their preferred lifestyle in retirement
- The cost of care in old age
- Giving their wealth to younger generations.
As you can see, both categories have concerns about their lifestyle in retirement. This highlights the importance of proper preparation as early as possible, which can help ensure you can enjoy the retirement you want.
It was also good to see that many of our clients are considering the cost of care in old age and how best to pass wealth to younger generations. If you’re one of them, please get in touch so that we can help you prepare in a way that works best for you.
Peace of mind is the biggest benefit of working with us
Last, but by no means least, we asked clients to identify the main benefit of working with us.
- 38.30% said it was peace of mind
- 21.28% pointed to the financial security our advice provides
- 14.89% explained it was the understanding and reassurance we provide.
This feedback, and all the other comments provided, will shape our service going forward. Furthermore, it provided a huge morale boost for the team. This is because it tells us that the work we do genuinely helps our clients.
Get in touch
Thank you again for your time, trouble and kind words. Everyone here at Ardent is extremely grateful. If you would like to discuss the survey further, or your financial situation, please contact us on hello@ardentuk.com or call 01904 655 330.
