Is UK Financial Advice a Trusted Profession? A study relating to the public trust, identifying the factors involved in determining the professionalisation of an occupational field

Elkington, Daniel Mark Cowburn (2025) Is UK Financial Advice a Trusted Profession? A study relating to the public trust, identifying the factors involved in determining the professionalisation of an occupational field. Doctoral thesis (PhD), Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

This thesis explores the intersection of public trust and the concept of a profession. The primary objective is to develop a practical social framework for understanding how public trust constitutes the essence of a profession, thereby delineating the relationship between society and professional structures. The fundamental premise is that trust-building is the foundational process through which society defines and legitimizes professions. This study investigates how public trust intersects with the notion of a profession in the context of financial advice in the UK through a three-phase approach. The first phase involves a comprehensive literature review to identify dimensions of public trust supported by existing evidence. In the second phase, a survey of the general public is conducted, followed by principal components analysis to identify 'Professionalisation Vectors' (PVs). These PVs offer an integrated understanding of the interaction between public trust and professional status. The third phase applies these PVs to the financial advice sector via an internal audit to assess its perception as a profession. The findings indicate that financial advice is not broadly perceived as a profession by the public. These results are validated through external sources. Key conclusions highlight individual, regulatory, relational, and frustration-related PVs that shape public trust in professions. These PVs are clusters of socially normative characteristics that can be said to shape public trust in an occupational field. The thesis concludes by outlining significant risks to public trust in financial advice within the UK and provides policy recommendations to mitigate these risks and enhance trust in financial advice.