Aviva Financial Advice announces launch of investment advice

Two people in a meeting room
  • Advice proposition widens to include investment advice
  • Aviva Financial Advice now supports customers with whole of wealth offering

Aviva has launched Investment Advice, as part of its Aviva Financial Advice (AFA) service for clients.

Customers are now able to request advice on investments, in addition to the current advice offered by Aviva on pensions, annuities and DB transfers.

Our customer feedback has shown us that people also want to discuss their wider financial planning as well as thinking about planning for retirement and beyond. With the addition of investment advice today, customers can receive more holistic advice support from AFA, according to their requirements.

Mary Harper, MD Aviva Financial Advice said, “We are delighted to announce the addition of investment advice to our advice offering. 

"Our amibition is to help bridge the advice gap, so we will continue to look at how we make our advice offering more accessible to more people, whether that is by adding more propositions, if we see the demand, or thinking flexibly about other ways in which people can benefit from advice, whether that’s the full service or a simplified version.”

Providing advice on investments is also key in helping customers become more comfortable with the concept of risk and return, rather than keeping the vast majority of savings in cash. 

Recent research by the FCA identified that £10K saved in cash in 2008 would have been worth £11,720 by 2018, but if the same amount had been invested, it would have been worth £21,905 by the end of the same period.1

Mary Harper commented, "Whilst cash will always play a part in prudent financial planning alongside other savings strategies to meet a range of savings needs, in the long run, customers’ financial outcomes can be adversely impacted by an over-reliance on this alone, particularly when interest rates are very low. Not only do they not receive the returns they could do, but the value of cash is eroded through inflation.

"That’s why we’re pleased to be able to provide that advice on investments, broadening the level of support we can offer. Our Financial Advisers will be able to build a personalised investment plan for customers, tailored to their goals matching their needs at a level of risk and return they are comfortable with.”

At a glance – AFA Investments –

From 6 May, AFA will be providing investment advice on :

  •  ISAs
  • General Investment Accounts / OEICs
  • Onshore bonds

We can advise on investments alone, pensions alone or a combination of both, according to the customer need. If an Aviva solution isn’t right for the customer, we will always refer them to seek whole of market advice.

Aviva Financial Advice takes advantage of the responsible investment expertise at Aviva Investors to integrate environmental, social & governance (ESG) considerations into core investment solutions.

Aviva Investors has been at the forefront of responsible investment for five decades. The company was a founding signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (2006), a member of the European Commission’s High‑Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance and served on the Financial Stability Board’s Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (both 2016). Aviva Investors continues to influence policy makers and regulators with the aim of creating sustainable financial markets. The firm’s responsible investment approach promotes good practice through active ownership and collaboration.

Aviva Financial Advice (AFA) was set up in 2016, to bridge the advice gap fuelled by the Pensions Freedoms which came into force the previous year, and offered advice on pensions and annuities to customers who didn’t already have an adviser. Advice on DB transfers was added later, and more recently abridged advice specifically for people who want to consider their DB pension as part of a complete review of retirement wealth.

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1 Evaluation of the impact of RDR and FAMR, FCA Report, December 2020

Enquiries:

Catherine Comben

UK Insurance Media Relations

Notes to editors:

  • We are the UK's leading diversified insurer and we operate in the UK, Ireland and Canada. We also have international investments in India and China.
  • We help our 19.5 million (as at 30 June 2024) customers make the most out of life, plan for the future, and have the confidence that if things go wrong we’ll be there to put it right.
  • We have been taking care of people for more than 325 years, in line with our purpose of being ‘with you today, for a better tomorrow’. In 2023, we paid £25.6 billion in claims and benefits to our customers.
  • In 2021, we announced our ambition to become Net Zero by 2040, the first major insurance company in the world to do so. We are aiming to have Net Zero carbon emissions from Aviva’s operations and supply chain by 2030. While we are working towards our sustainability ambitions, we recognise that while we have control over Aviva’s operations and influence on our supply chain, when it comes to decarbonising the economy in which we operate and invest, Aviva is one part of a far larger global ecosystem. There are also limits to our ability to influence other organisations and governments. Nevertheless, we remain focused on the task and are committed to playing our part in the collective effort to enable the global transition. Find out more about our climate goals at www.aviva.com/climate-goals and our sustainability ambition and action at www.aviva.com/sustainability
  • Aviva is a Living Wage, Living Pension and Living Hours employer and provides market-leading benefits for our people, including flexible working, paid carers leave and equal parental leave. Find out more at https://www.aviva.com/about-us/our-people/
  • As at 30 June 2024, total Group assets under management at Aviva Group were £398 billion and our estimated Solvency II shareholder capital surplus was £8.2 billion. Our shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and we are a member of the FTSE 100 index.
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