The [tag|Retail Distribution Review|]Retail Distribution Review[/tag] is making a serious impact by improving consumer confidence in financial services, says 57 per cent of financial advisors, according to a poll conducted by [tag|Cofunds|]Cofunds[/tag].

The UK funds platform asked more than 400 financial advisors how long they expect it to take for consumer confidence to change following the introduction of RDR, and the answers revealed that 16 per cent believe confidence has already improved, while the remaining 41 per cent said it would happen within three years. Meanwhile 42 per cent believe that RDR will have no impact on consumer confidence.

The RDR was re-launched by the Financial Services Authority in December 2012 as a means to force financial services firms to disclose their charging structure in writing and, where possible, in cash terms, clearly outlining the charges a client would pay. Other headline changes of the reform programme have been a ban on commission payments in favour of fees and a rise in professional qualification standards for advisors.

“It’s encouraging to see that with this latest piece of regulation advisors’ sterling efforts, in very trying times, are already feeding through to improved consumer confidence – a confidence, it’s important to remember, that was knocked in the main by providers, not advisors,” added Stephen Wynne-Jones, head of marketing at Cofunds. 

The survey also showed that client responses to the implementation of fees has been largely positive or neutral, proving that the regulatory transition is not having a detrimental effect on advisor-client relations.

Cofunds is a UK-based investment platform for advisors and other financial institutions, with more than £52 billion ($79.92 billion) assets under administration, as of 1 April 2013.