A survey released Wednesday by Dimensional Fund Advisors found that while investors use emotion to measure the primary value received from their advisor, the most important attributes of that relationship are more practical.
Dimensional surveyed almost 19,000 investors in February and March who work with advisors at the firm. It found that over a third of respondents say a sense of security or peace of mind is the primary value of working with an advisor.
"Peace of mind may be attributed to many aspects of an advisor relationship, and in our view it is an outcome of advisors helping investors feel prepared by setting the right expectations," Dave Butler, Dimensional co-CEO and head of Global Financial Advisor Services, said in a statement.
Just 14% of investors said investment returns are the primary factor in determining their advisor's value.
That doesn't mean returns aren't important to investors. Drilling into which attributes of the relationship are most important, 32% of investors said returns.
