Less than one in five, 17%, of financial advisers believe hiring younger colleagues would help them to attract new clients, but new research suggests the opportunity may be bigger than they realise.

In the past 12 months, advisers aged under 45 generated the largest proportion of their personal revenue from new clients, 22%, compared to all other age groups.

Advisers under 45 are more than twice as likely to be working with new clients that have simpler needs, according to the study from NextWealth and Aegon.

That offers adviser firms an opportunity as regulators seek to broaden access to advice, reckons Heather Hopkins, managing director at NextWealth.

She said: “Growth is a team sport, and having a range of different views, skillsets and ideas can only be a good thing for advice firms looking to lay the groundwork for achieving long-term strategic value.

“The firms building enduring value are doing several things in concert, including developing talent at every career stage. Hiring younger advisers can support that strategy when coupled with new ways of working that lift the whole team.”

She said the research also showed that younger advisers draw in clients from a wider range of circumstances and sources.

Ms Hopkins added: “By pairing this new energy with the experience already in the industry, firms that invest in younger talent now could be in a favourable position to build the next few decades of trusted relationships.”

The research guide Organic Growth for Financial Advice Firms canvassed the views of more than 200 financial advice professionals.

When asked to pick the factors they believed would be most helpful when trying to attract new clients, only 17% of advisers picked the hiring of younger advisers, making it the 8th most popular choice.

While 22% of advisers aged under 45 generated the largest proportion of their personal revenue from new clients, for those aged 45-54 it was 17%, while it was 14% for those aged 55-64, and 16% for advisers aged 65 and over.

• The data was collected by NextWealth in March, using an online survey of 200 financial advice professionals from across the UK, and in-depth interviews with 11 financial advice firms. The interviewed firms were selected independently to represent a range of business sizes, in terms of AUM and number of advisers, and business models.