Trust has always been fundamental to financial advice, but the way it is earned, maintained and sometimes repaired has changed significantly over the past four decades.
In an era defined by constant information flow, heightened regulation and global uncertainty, trust can no longer be assumed as a by-product of expertise alone. It must be treated as a professional discipline in its own right.
Clients today live with a permanent backdrop of uncertainty. Markets move quickly, geopolitical risk is no longer abstract, tax and pension rules evolve with little warning, and headlines often amplify anxiety rather than understanding. Against this backdrop, financial advice is less about predicting outcomes and more about helping clients move forward with confidence when outcomes are not fully known.
Crucially, clients do not engage with advisers from a single emotional or psychological starting point. Some arrive with high levels of confidence, often shaped by long-standing relationships or positive past experiences. Others approach advice cautiously, carrying the weight of previous disappointment, complexity or mistrust, some times of the industry as a whole rather than any individual firm.
Recognising these differing trust states is essential. A confident client may be comfortable with strategic discussions and long-term planning. A cautious client, by contrast, often needs structure, familiarity and reassurance before they are able to engage meaningfully with decisions. Treating both in the same way risks either overwhelming or under-serving them.
The adviser’s role is not to eliminate uncertainty that is neither realistic nor honest but to make uncertainty navigable. This means reducing the sense of risk that comes from the unfamiliar and replacing it with clarity of process, consistency of communication and transparency of intent.
When trust begins to waver, the causes are rarely dramatic. More often, it erodes quietly: a missed follow-up, unclear communication, a recommendation that feels insufficiently explained or a sense that commercial drivers may be influencing advice. These moments matter, because trust is cumulative. It is built slowly and can be weakened incrementally.
In my experience, there are four professional principles that advisers can return to when confidence needs to be reinforced.
Competence is the foundation. This extends beyond technical knowledge to understanding how regulation, tax, investment markets and client circumstances interact. Clients do not expect advisers to have all the answers, but they do expect them to understand the landscape and to explain it clearly.
Reliability is often underestimated. Consistency of service, timely communication and doing what has been promised even when the news is unwelcome, creates a sense of stability. Reliability turns advice from an event into a relationship.
Integrity is non-negotiable. Acting in the client’s best interests must be visible as well as real. This includes being prepared to challenge assumptions, recommend inaction when appropriate, or acknowledge when a solution is not suitable. Integrity is most evident when it carries a short-term cost.
Empathy completes the picture. Financial decisions are rarely just numerical. They are tied to family, security, lifestyle and identity. Advisers who recognise the emotional context of decisions are better placed to support clients through change, particularly during periods of stress or transition.
What is often overlooked is that trust at a relationship level remains remarkably resilient, even when confidence in institutions or markets is fragile. Clients are not looking for certainty; they are looking for advisers who can help them think clearly when certainty is unavailable.
For the advice profession, this has important implications. Firms that invest in process, governance, training and culture are better equipped to sustain trust over time. Heritage and longevity matter, not as marketing slogans, but as evidence of having navigated multiple cycles while maintaining professional standards.
After many years in this industry, one conclusion is clear: trust is not a static asset. It must be actively maintained, consciously reinforced and, when necessary, patiently rebuilt. Advisers who treat trust as a discipline rather than a given are those best positioned to serve clients well in an increasingly complex world.
John Westwood is Group Chairman at Blacktower Financial Management
