LIVONIA, Mich., Sept. 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new Cogent Syndicated report from Escalent shows financial advisors are growing increasingly pessimistic about the US economy with 79% considering the current conditions below optimal as of July. Inflation and rising interest rates stand out as key advisor concerns and are leading to an increased interest in alternative investments.
Those are the latest findings of Escalent’s Advisor Brandscape® report, which measures the impact of brand and loyalty on revenue in the advisor marketplace.
Looking ahead, one in four advisors (25%) think that US economic conditions will improve in the next three months. Meanwhile, one in three (33%) predict conditions will worsen, a lower proportion compared with June data (45%).
“Advisors and their clients are worried—yet during these uncertain times, asset managers have the opportunity to offer reassurance,” said Meredith Lloyd Rice, vice president at Escalent and author of the report. “As momentum behind the enduring bull market wanes, we’re seeing advisors tilt away from a growth mindset and look for opportunities to diversify their clients’ investment portfolios to hedge against current economic concerns.”
In addition to the concern of inflation and rising interest rates, market volatility and economic slowdown are also a worry for advisors with market volatility concern up nine percentage points between March and July and concern around an economic slowdown up 16 percentage points. Conversely, advisors’ worry around geopolitical events (including the conflict in Ukraine) have receded.
Advisors express increasing interest in alternative investments as a way to modify and hedge against inflation and other economic concerns, directing particular attention towards real assets/commodities (29%), real estate/REITs (26%) and other alternatives (22%) as attractive investment opportunities.
Escalent also identified what advisors perceive as the most effective means of communication. 63% of advisors report external wholesaler meetings as the most effective way to engage with them, with email communication being the second most preferred among advisors overall at 58%. However, advisors in the broker/dealer channels and Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) differ in their preferences somewhat—with broker/dealers more responsive to external wholesaler visits and internal sales/wholesaler phone calls and RIAs touting emails, webinars, provider websites and podcasts as effective communication methods.
To learn more about the Advisor Brandscape® report, visit escalent.co.
About Advisor Brandscape®
Cogent Syndicated conducted an online survey with 1,386 registered financial advisors from January to March of 2022. In order to qualify, respondents were required to have an active book of business of at least $5 million and offer investment advice or planning services to individual investors on a fee or transactional basis. Cogent sets quota targets and weights the data to be representative of the overall advisor universe using the Discovery Data Financial Services Industry database as a sample source. Escalent will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request.
About Escalent
Escalent is an award-winning data analytics and advisory firm that helps clients understand human and market behaviors to navigate disruption and business transformation. As catalysts of progress for more than 40 years, our strategies guide the world’s leading brands. We accelerate growth by creating a seamless flow between primary, secondary, syndicated, and internal business data, providing consulting and advisory services from insights through implementation. Based on a profound understanding of what drives human beings and markets, we identify actions that build brands, enhance customer experiences, inspire product innovation and boost business productivity. Visit escalent.co to see how we are helping shape the brands that are reshaping the world.
