There are clear benefits of working with a financial advisor, and the industry must work harder to demonstrate these benefits to the public and to policymakers, a panel of investment industry executives said on Friday.

At the Investment Fund Institute of Canada’s annual conference in Toronto, the panelists discussed results of a research study on the value of advice, which was recently released by IFIC, in collaboration with Ipsos Reid. The study showed that Canadians who work with financial advisors have substantially higher levels of investable assets than non-advised Canadians, and are more satisfied with their financial situation, among other findings.

“There is no denying, on a factual basis, the value of advice,” said Ray Kong, global financial services practice leader at Ipsos Reid, who presented the results. “Working with a financial advisor is important and valuable for everybody, for all Canadians.”

But Kong said the industry must do a better job of communicating this value to the public. He said many investors have lost trust in the financial services industry.

“There is a perception issue, a trust issue,” Kong said. “This is what we need to start to deliberately manage – the perception of the industry and how the industry is perceived by the public, and earning back the trust of the Canadian consumer.”

As the cost of advice continues to come under public scrutiny, advisors must be able to clearly define their value proposition, said Chris Enright, senior vice president of the wealth management division at Industrial Alliance Insurance & Financial Services Inc. But he admitted that this is a challenge.

“It’s a very, very difficult thing for advisors to do,” Enright said. “I would suggest that those that haven’t done a very good job are the ones that are going to go through a [market downturn], and they’re going to lose their clients.”

The industry must also ensure that policymakers are well aware of the value of advice, the panelists said.

Murray Taylor, president and CEO of Investors Group, argued that policymakers often overlook the valuable role that advisors play in helping Canadians save for retirement. He pointed to research showing that savings in non-registered accounts – the “fourth pillar” of the retirement savings system, which is managed with the help of financial advisors – comprise a huge portion of Canadians’ savings.

“If Canadians are holding $1.7 trillion in non-registered financial assets, I would suggest that a big part of that is being held for their future retirement, and needs to become part of the discussion and debate,” Taylor said. “As an industry, I think it’s important that we make known to the government the inadequacy in many of their numbers and many of their reports around Pillar Four.”

When assessing the role of advice, Taylor said that policymakers have been too focused on its cost.

“They have not been hearing the value for that cost,” he said. “The values far exceed any amount of cost that is there for the advisor. Helping our politicians, helping our regulators helping those that are making policy decisions understand that, I think is important.”

IE