Advisors are telling clients to stay the course and refrain from making "wholesale changes" to their portfolios despite economic volatility, a recent poll by kasina has found.
And given the current low-yield environment, advisors are increasingly likely to recommend less traditional income-producing assets for clients, with their favored products being emerging-market bond funds and dividend-paying equities, according to a survey released Monday by OppeneheimerFunds.
Kasina, a consultant and strategic advisor to the asset management industry, recently polled 2,300 advisors in its biannual FA Vision survey on their top concerns and recommended courses of action. The study found that nearly half favored "staying the course" over significant reallocation in alternatives, equities, fixed income and cash.
Advisors were asked which of the following events presented the biggest possible impact to their clients' portfolios: the European debt crisis, oil prices, the 2012 U.S. presidential election, unemployment or another event.
Close to half (47%) of the advisors polled by kasina said that the debt crisis in Europe would have the biggest impact. However, kasina notes those advisors not recommending change "stressed that their portfolios were already positioned to avoid responding to short-term bumps in the road."
Fifty-nine percent of the advisors polled in the OppenheimerFunds study agreed that the ongoing European debt crisis is the most important issue impacting the financial advice they give to clients. Forty-three percent of the advisors polled by OppenheimerFunds said they have reduced exposure to international bonds, while 41% have reduced exposure to international equities since the eurozone crisis began.
