The data, based on searches for an adviser on the unbiased.co.uk site, revealed a clear demand for advice from people in the South of the UK.
Salisbury (10.1%), Stevenage (9.6%) Bath (7.6%) and Cambridge (7.0%) all listing in the top five most searched for areas as a percentage of their population size.
Interestingly, London, which has the highest population in the UK, came in at number 84 on the list, with just 1.28% searching for a financial adviser.
Karen Barrett, chief executive of unbiased.co.uk, said: “Our financial advice hotspots map reveals which areas in the UK have the highest percentage of people searching for a financial adviser in the UK – and while we always hear about the South East and London being the ‘center of wealth’, and therefore more likely to seek financial advice, it is refreshing to see our ‘Financial Advice Hotspots Map’ throwing up some surprising places!”
But it wasn’t just London that performed badly. Belfast (0.3%), Glasgow (0.4%), Edinburgh (0.5%) and Durham (0.6%) had the lowest percentage of population searching for financial advice.
Barrett added: “Advice is important for everyone, no matter where you live and how much money you have – getting professional advice on your mortgage options, help with finding the best annuity deal or advice on protecting your family against financial hardship, are all areas that are important to a large proportion of the population.
“We hear from a lot of consumers that they simply don’t know how to make sense of certain areas of their finances and therefore decide to leave them for another day, which often results in these areas never being tackled.
“The important thing to remember is that you don’t have to be a personal finance expert yourself; getting professional advice is a great way of taking control of your finances and giving your family peace of mind.”
The website also reported a 9% increase in people searching for advice in the first four months of 2013, compared to the same period last year.
The most popular areas that consumers are searching for advice on are pensions, investments and savings.
