One third of mortgage advisors failing to highlight client vulnerabilities

September 26, 2025 by Brendan O'Neill

Mortgage Advisors

The latest research has found the majority of mortgage advisors are encountering more clients with vulnerabilities, but also that too many of them are failing to disclose that information to lenders.

Those findings come from a study produced by Smart Money People, which found that four out of every five advisors had dealt with clients who were vulnerable. However, nearly one third of them stated they had never disclosed such information to the relevant mortgage lenders. This ties in with what lenders told the study, with over 50% indicating that they had not received any disclosures during the last year.

When it comes to industry progress in helping vulnerable clients, only 58% of advisors believe that progress is being made. The number of advisors who told the study that they did disclose most instances of vulnerability went up in comparison with last year, but there is still room for improvement.

The gap between the number of advisors who report disclosing vulnerabilities and the number of lenders who report receiving them is partially explained by internal recording systems. It is clear that many reports from advisors are not getting through to lenders.

Smart Money People’s head of business development is Jess Trueman. She spoke to Financial Reporter about the findings, saying:

“The overall conclusion is clear: the knowledge is there, the willingness is there, but the infrastructure to support consistent disclosure is still not fit for purpose.”

It is very important for any advisor who has completed the CeMAP course to disclose client vulnerability.