UK advisors are more confident than they were a year ago about the financial services sector, a survey by Ascentric, the wrap platform wrap, has found.

Two-thirds of respondents felt more confident, showing the growing optimism in the ability of advisors to handle changes as a result of the Retail Distribution Review which comes into effect in 2013.

The survey polled 200 advisors at Ascentric conferences held in Manchester, Bristol and London.

When discussing the future, 88 per cent said they were confident in the direction of their business.

Advisors seem happy to operate a flexible fee structure for the client’s needs: 57 per cent charged a mixture of hourly, percentage of assets and fixed fee. Only 3 per cent of advisors charged an hourly fee alone.

Meanwhile, social media are not being fully embraced by advisors as 37 per cent disagreed that they could broaden the reach of their brand.

Steve Billingham of Steve Billingham Consulting said it was pleasing that such a significant proportion of advisors felt positive about the future and see themselves as “survivors” rather than “victims” of the RDR.

“Change is inevitable under RDR and these findings indicate a growing level of confidence that advisors can use this time as an opportunity to refresh and revitalise their business,” said Dominic Ventham, head of marketing at Ascentric. “It also suggests a real belief that their value propositions will hold up in a fee-paying world despite the difficult market conditions.”