Diversify or decline: Why staying competitive in 2025 depends on evolving your advice mode

In today’s rapidly evolving advice landscape, financial advisers are navigating an increasingly complex environment shaped by a range of pressures — from economic uncertainty and persistent market volatility to growing time constraints and rising client expectations. These challenges are not only reshaping how advice is delivered, but also what clients expect.

To remain competitive and future-proof their business, advisers must think beyond traditional approaches and embrace a more adaptive, diversified strategy. This means re-evaluating both the services they offer and the types of clients they serve.

In our recent Elevate webinar, Adviser Challenges in 2025: Diversifying for Growth and Resilience, we explored why diversification isn’t just a ‘nice to have’  — but a ‘must-have’. 

What advisers are saying

Ahead of the webinar, we conducted a poll of more than 100 advisers, asking them to identify the most effective strategy for achieving business growth in the current climate. The findings were revealing — and encouraging.

40% of respondents highlighted expanding their product portfolio as the top strategy for growth, with 29% favouring taking a holistic financial approach. The results suggest a growing recognition that the traditional ‘one-size-fits-all’ advice model is no longer sufficient to meet the needs of modern and often well-informed clients. 

As an increasing number of consumers become more financially adept and accustomed to personalised service, they expect their advisers to offer broader, more integrated solutions. Expanding the advice toolkit is no longer just an option — it’s a business imperative.

Diversification also means being proactive, not reactive. It's about identifying and embracing opportunities that align with changing demographics, evolving financial needs, and long-term planning goals.

Spotlight on later life lending: a missed opportunity?

One of the most significant — yet frequently underutilised — areas of diversification discussed during the webinar was later life lending. Despite homeowners aged 55 and over collectively holding an estimated £2.6 trillion in property wealth, this market remains surprisingly underexplored by many advisers. So why is this opportunity often overlooked?

Much of it comes down to outdated perceptions and internal industry barriers. While the demand and opportunity are clear, adoption has been sluggish, and fewer than 2% of over-50s have ever taken out a lifetime mortgage. This gap highlights a disconnect between client needs and adviser engagement.

However, the barrier may lie within the advice profession itself. Some advisers remain hesitant due to legacy reputational concerns around equity release, while others feel ill-equipped or lack the confidence to advise in this space. 

But the reality is that later life lending has evolved significantly. Today’s products are far more flexible and client-focused than those of the past. Features such as no-negative-equity guarantees, the ability to make voluntary repayments, and inheritance protection are now standard. The FCA has also acknowledged this evolution, recently describing later life lending as a ‘significant and growing’ part of the market.

By embracing this sector, advisers not only open the door to more holistic, needs-based planning, but also tap into a robust and growing market that can offer long-term value and differentiation.

More than just a product: A relationship-building strategy

It’s important to understand that diversification is not just about offering more products — it’s about deepening the value of the adviser-client relationship. Take later life lending as an example. When used appropriately, it enables discussions that go far beyond the mortgage itself.

Clients may be looking to support their children or grandchildren, fund lifestyle needs in retirement, consolidate debts, or pay for long-term care. Advisers who are equipped to address these objectives can provide much more comprehensive support, often becoming a trusted adviser across multiple generations of a client’s family.

This broader engagement fosters stronger loyalty, longer client lifecycles, and greater referral potential. By creating more touchpoints throughout the client journey, advisers can offer ongoing, life-stage-specific value — strengthening both the relationship and the business.

Moreover, clients increasingly value advisers who take a ‘whole-person’ approach to financial advice — one that connects their wealth, housing, and lifestyle objectives into a single, coordinated plan. Diversification helps make that possible.

Organised, personalised, essential: The role of technology in deeper client engagement

Of course, to help facilitate a move into other sectors — and build longer, better client relationships — the need to embrace technology such as CRMs for better organisation and customer engagement become paramount. 

In my earlier article, How data-led working practices can help you better prepare for interest rate rises, I explored how advisers can utilise data-led working practices to help build client satisfaction and relationships through better service. 

This level of organisation and engagement is of even more importance when a client is seeking multiple-faceted and potentially generational advice — especially considering today’s digital-savvy clients. 

Your communication needs to be quick, accurate and personal — you need to remember not only your client’s birthday, but also their children’s birthday. Advice in this space is often deeply personal and emotive — and the adviser’s ability to deliver on that is invaluable. 

The road ahead: embracing a future-ready mindset

As we look forward to 2026 and beyond, one thing is certain: diversification is no longer optional — it’s a strategic requirement for advisers who want to maintain relevance, resilience, and sustainable growth.

This doesn’t mean transforming into a generalist or overextending your services. It means being selective, strategic, and client-driven in expanding your proposition. For many, that might mean incorporating new lending options, investing in additional qualifications, or forming partnerships with specialists in areas like later life lending or intergenerational wealth transfer.

We all know that the regulatory landscape is evolving, with client needs becoming increasingly complex. However, new solutions — along with cutting-edge technology and tools to deliver them — are reshaping what’s possible. 

Now is the time to move beyond traditional advice models and start building a future-ready, diversified advice business — one that can thrive through uncertainty and deliver real, lasting value to clients at every stage of life.