More than two thirds of people (69%) indicate regulatory changes to increase professionalism and make costs of financial advice more transparent, will give them more confidence to seek professional advice.
The IFP is running a series of daily polls with consumers throughout Financial Planning Week to find out what people are thinking when it comes to their money - and how they are coping with their personal finances during these uncertain times.
Nick Cann, CEO of IFP, said: "It is tremendous to see people are aware that financial planning is relevant to everybody, and not just the wealthy. They're absolutely right of course, but it needs to be recognised as such if we are to see more action to help people get to grips with their finances.
"What our detailed consumer survey showed us however is that people are not sure what plans they need to make or where they could go to get help or advice. We are particularly encouraged that through the Financial Planning Week campaign we'll be able to help more and more people access financial planning tools and services by bringing it to the mass market.
"By making the planning process more interesting, engaging and affordable we hope to encourage people to take some simple steps to improve their financial 'fitness'."
Steve Casey, head of marketing, individual protection at Friends Life, added: "The fact the majority of respondents agree that financial planning should not only be the preserve of the wealthy is encouraging. In today's challenging economic climate it is important that people are as correctly informed as possible when making financial planning decisions.
"Expert financial advice should be accessible to everyone but, along with all other professional services it comes at a price. Encouragingly our own research shows a strong appetite among consumers towards paying for this advice."
