The Investment Management Consultants Association has released the findings of a survey on investor expectations of their advisors, and it turns out that the younger the investor, the more highly they value their advisor holding professional credentials, especially licenses and registrations that they are not required to hold.
As part of the 2014 Advisor Impact "Economics of Loyalty" research, 84% of the millennials surveyed said it was "important" or "critical" that their advisors obtain voluntary certifications. Among the total of 1,200 investors surveyed, 62% felt that way about their advisors, while 65% said they found it either "somewhat important" or "critical" that their advisor's credential was issued "by an objective, nonprofit, third-party certifier."
The survey polled 1,200 individuals who have worked with or are currently working with a financial advisor, and was conducted online in February. IMCA contracted with Advisor Impact, the international research firm headed by Julie Littlechild, to include several custom questions as part of the annual survey.
In a statement, IMCA CEO and Executive Director Sean Walters called the findings "the latest in a long line of consumer research to foretell rising client expectations, particularly among millennials," but noted as well that the survey is one of the first in the industry "to rank the most important criteria for advisor credentials."
