For more than a decade, Russell Investments’ work on quantifying the “value of advice” has been the industry’s go-to framework. It gave advisers an evidence-based way to show clients that their expertise adds real, measurable value — from portfolio design to behavioural coaching.
But this year’s edition, built on a new survey of 700 investors and 200 advisers, changes the tone entirely. It suggests the industry’s traditional focus on protection — guarding clients from volatility and bad decisions — is being replaced by a new paradigm: empowerment.
Confidence is the new alpha
The data is unambiguous. Among advised clients, 89 per cent say advice makes them feel more confident and knowledgeable about their finances, while 86 per cent say it helps them feel in control.
By contrast, just 57 per cent of unadvised investors feel even “moderately confident” managing money, and three-quarters believe they would feel more in control if they worked with an adviser.
That emotional gap — the distance between anxiety and assurance — is now the true measure of advice.
The study also reveals a striking mismatch in perception. While 70 per cent of advisers strongly agree that their main financial value lies in helping clients avoid costly mistakes, clients rank that seventh. What they value most is something less tangible but far more personal: control, clarity, and peace of mind.
The formula still matters — but feelings matter more
The backbone of Russell’s analysis remains the Value of an Adviser formula — A + B + C + E + T, representing asset allocation, behavioural coaching, choices and trade-offs, expertise and tax-savvy planning.
Collectively, those pillars added at least 5.6 per cent in value over the past year, driven largely by two key components:
- Behavioural coaching (3.1 per cent) — keeping clients invested through volatility; and
- Asset allocation (1.3 per cent) — positioning clients correctly across risk profiles to optimise returns.
These numbers remain powerful proof points. But what’s most interesting in this year’s report is how Russell has reframed the equation through a new Value of an Adviser Index — ranking not how advisers quantify value, but how clients feel it.
The results are illuminating. Expertise (E) emerged as the top driver of satisfaction with a score of 118, followed closely by appropriate asset allocation (A) at 113. Elements like tax-efficiency and behavioural coaching — long staples of adviser conversations — ranked far lower.
In essence, what matters most to clients is confidence in the adviser’s judgment, not the intricacies of their spreadsheets.
Trust and transparency: The true currency of advice
If expertise is the foundation, trust is the architecture built on top. The Russell research found that trust now surpasses technical ability as the single strongest driver of satisfaction.
That’s not new to anyone who’s been in advice for more than a decade, but the data validates what experience has always told us: clients don’t judge advisers by IQ, but by EQ — reliability, clarity and care.
Transparency also emerged as a critical factor. Clients rated the importance of clear, easy-to-understand fees at 8.5 out of 10, but rated advisers’ performance in this area slightly lower, at 8.2. Advisers, on the other hand, rated themselves at 8.7 — revealing a small but meaningful gap in perception.
Closing that gap isn’t about cheaper fees; it’s about communication. Taking time to link each cost to an outcome — and ensuring clients genuinely understand what they’re paying for — strengthens trust far more effectively than price competition.
Beyond returns: The priceless “E” in the equation
One of the most elegant aspects of Russell’s framework is the admission that some components of advice can’t be quantified.
“Expertise” — the E in the equation — is officially labelled priceless. And for good reason: Advisers help clients make complex life decisions that go far beyond investments: balancing mortgages with HECS debts, supporting ageing parents, navigating inheritances or managing retirement transitions.
Those decisions aren’t about ‘alpha’ — they’re about alignment. And they’re the very moments when the human dimension of advice matters most.
The report also highlights a generational challenge. Australia’s intergenerational wealth transfer — expected to exceed $5 trillion in the next two decades — presents both risk and opportunity. Many beneficiaries don’t retain their parents’ advisers, but advisers who engage early with the next generation are far more likely to sustain those relationships across lifetimes
From protector to partner
If there’s a unifying message across the report, it’s that advisers must rethink the story they tell about their role.
Russell’s Head of Distribution, Neil Rogan, writes that clients no longer want advisers who “shield them from bad decisions”; they want advisers who help them feel confident making their own.
That’s a subtle but profound shift — from a defensive to an offensive posture. It means moving away from fear-based narratives (“don’t miss out,” “avoid mistakes”) and toward empowerment-based ones (“let’s build your confidence and control”).
It also reframes behavioural coaching. Instead of positioning it as “keeping clients calm during volatility,” advisers could say, “We help you make rational, informed decisions even when markets are unpredictable.”
Advice as emotional diversification
The report quantifies how much advice adds in performance terms — but it’s the emotional ROI that truly defines success. Before receiving advice, only 28 per cent of investors felt confident about achieving their goals. After receiving advice, that number jumps to 81 per cent.
That’s a 53-point confidence dividend — no fund manager or product can replicate that.
Russell’s findings also confirm that advised clients retire earlier (42 per cent before age 65) and report higher satisfaction with their lifestyle, not just their portfolio.
Why it matters now
At a time when adviser numbers are shrinking, affordability is under scrutiny and AI threatens to automate parts of our craft, the Value of an Adviser 2025 report provides both reassurance and direction.
The reassurance: our work still matters — profoundly.
The direction: we need to speak less about performance, and more about purpose.
Clients are telling us, in unambiguous terms, that the real value of advice lies not in the mechanics of money, but in the mastery of mindset.
If we can shift from protecting clients to empowering them, from projecting expertise to building trust, and from measuring returns to amplifying confidence — we might just rediscover the heart of our profession.