Verified Adviser
A Better Way to Understand Adviser Performance
Choosing an adviser is an important decision.
Whether you're arranging a mortgage, planning for retirement, protecting your family or preparing a Will, most people want to know one thing before they begin:
Can I trust this person to look after my interests and provide a good experience?
Traditionally, consumers have relied on recommendations from friends, online reviews or directory websites. Whilst these can be useful, they often provide limited context and can make it difficult to compare advisers consistently.
Verified Adviser was created to provide a more structured and transparent way of understanding adviser performance through real client feedback.
Our methodology focuses on the client experience and uses a consistent survey process across all advisers on the platform.
Following a completed client transaction or service interaction, clients are invited to complete a short survey about their experience.
The survey is administered independently through Verified Adviser and uses a structured framework designed to assess key aspects of the advice journey.
Responses are collected, analysed and used to generate adviser ratings and performance insights.
This creates a consistent and measurable approach to feedback that allows advisers to be compared fairly and transparently.
Many online review platforms rely on unstructured comments and star ratings.
Verified Adviser uses a structured methodology that asks every client the same questions.
Rather than measuring popularity, our surveys are designed to assess the quality of the client experience.
This provides a more meaningful and comparable view of adviser performance.
Our methodology is built on four principles:
Every adviser is assessed using the same core questions and scoring framework.
Our methodology is publicly available and clearly explained.
Survey responses are collected through Verified Adviser and processed using a standardised approach.
Ratings focus on how clients experience advice and service, rather than product or investment outcomes.
For regulated mortgage, protection and investment advice, our surveys are aligned to the four Consumer Duty outcomes introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
These outcomes are designed to help firms deliver good outcomes for retail clients and provide a useful framework for understanding the client experience.
This outcome looks at whether the advice and recommendations provided are appropriate for the client's circumstances and needs.
Clients are asked whether:
A strong score in this area may indicate that clients feel the adviser takes time to understand their objectives before making recommendations.
This outcome considers whether costs, charges and fees have been explained clearly and whether clients feel they have received appropriate value from the service provided.
Clients are asked whether:
This outcome focuses on transparency rather than affordability.
This outcome assesses how effectively advisers communicate with clients throughout the advice process.
Clients are asked whether:
Strong performance in this area often reflects clear communication and an ability to explain complex topics in an understandable way.
This outcome measures how supported clients felt throughout their journey.
Clients are asked whether:
Strong performance here may indicate a positive service experience and effective client support.
Each survey contains a series of scored questions.
For regulated advice:
Ratings are rounded to one decimal place and displayed as a score out of 10.
Alongside the overall rating, advisers may also display scores across each Consumer Duty outcome category.
Example — Overall Rating
8.7 / 10
Averaged across eight equally-weighted questions, each scored 1–10.
Verified Adviser ratings are based on:
Ratings provide insight into:
Verified Adviser ratings do not:
A high rating should be considered as one factor when choosing an adviser, alongside qualifications, experience, service offering and personal preference.
Clients may choose to provide written comments about their experience.
These comments:
Comments are displayed to provide additional context and insight into the client experience.
Verified Adviser is not just a review platform.
The feedback collected helps advisers, firms and supervisory organisations identify strengths, monitor service quality and continuously improve client outcomes.
By using a consistent methodology, we aim to raise standards, improve transparency and help consumers make more informed decisions when choosing professional advisers.
Choosing professional advice often involves significant financial and personal decisions.
Our goal is simple:
To help consumers make more informed choices by providing a transparent, structured and consistent view of adviser performance based on real client experience.