If banks and building societies have lost the confidence of consumers, says Jim Reeve, then independent financial advisers are well placed to gain an upper hand

Jim Reeve is proud of his CV—how many people have headed up a life assurance company (Zurich Group), a bank insurer (Barclays Financial Planning) and now an independent financial adviser (Positive Solutions)? Always willing to take an opportunity to improve his own knowledge and test his comfort zones, he took on his latest role "because I'm a great believer in learning and pushing yourself".

But at the end of last year, law firm Eversheds released research which found that the credit crunch had caused serious long-term damage to the reputation of financial services businesses. More than half (55 per cent) of respondents thought that it would take upwards of two years for the sector to recover the trust of business and the public.

In a statement to employees in February, Reeve estimated that banks had lost the trust of consumers not just for two years but for a generation. So how does he feel now? Positive, as it turns out. He believes there is an opportunity for the IFA sector. "If you talk to clients about IFAs, they trust them implicitly. They don't believe they've been in any way involved in the debacle that we see in finance markets," he says.

"If clients don't feel that banks should be entrusted with their future financial wellbeing, then the opportunities for IFAs are probably the best they've ever been. I'm not saying the banks don't have a future, but in the sector that IFAs play in, there's a fantastic opportunity for them to win, and win big time."

He also thinks it's more important than ever for businesses to improve transparency and for directors, as well as employees, to build their own professional development and expertise to try to boost consumer confidence in the industry.

"We will come out of this recession, and we'll come out bigger and stronger than we went into it," he says. "Those successful businesses will be the ones preparing for the better times to return and be ready to capture the opportunities that arise."

So, he explains, there will be further investment in Positive Solutions' Learning Academy, which operates as a "virtual university", allowing all IFA partners access to a range of training. And the IFA is pursuing an apprenticeship scheme to attract more talent into the industry that can be expanded across the UK, linking up with educational establishments such as universities and colleges. It wants to recruit more than 500 apprentices by the end of next year.

Reeve says directors who sit in ivory towers are unlikely to secure buy-in from employees. "If you don't know about the nuts and bolts of a business, how can you understand the idiosyncrasies that influence the big decisions you take? If you're making or managing change, the way in which you communicate is hugely important."

With 1,700 advisers, Positive Solutions is the UK's largest IFA. So how has the recession affected it? Reeve says turnover is down because clients who are sitting on cash are reluctant to invest until they see a clear sign as to whether, for example, the bottom of the mortgage market has been reached, or the stockmarket is rising or at least stable.

He explains: "Clients will be much more cautious about spending. They'll plan for their futures in greater detail-retirement planning will come into vogue. We'll miss out on that second flat-screen TV and the £2,000 will go into a retirement plan instead. Cultural and social changes will arise, which will be good for society but also good for the financial planning marketplace."

In the short-term, Reeve reckons consumers will be most concerned about job prospects and keeping their houses. But he adds: "I do believe that in the next 18 months they'll be much more positive. And we have to be prepared for meeting those needs."