What Investors and Advisors Are So Stressed About

Effects of Stress

Half of investors in the study and 61% of advisors said they felt the biggest effects of stress were on their mood; 38% of investors and 56% of advisors cited personal relationships; and similar percentages cited health.

"Chronic stress impacts risk-based decision-making — impairing complex, flexible reasoning, and pushing us toward more rigid and habit-based actions," Joetta Gobell, vice president of research and insights at Dotdash, Investopedia's parent company, said in the statement.

"For both financial advisors and investors, this kind of cognitive impact can potentially lead to suboptimal decisions around investing that unfortunately only further compound or extend the stress."

The research showed that financial advisors can help to reduce the stress investors feel. Three-quarters of investors who said they had a written financial plan reported feeling somewhat or very financially secure, compared with only half of those without a written plan.

"Stress manifests itself in many ways for investors, especially when it comes to feeling unprepared for key life stages like retirement and family planning," Investopedia's editor-in-chief, Caleb Silver, said in the statement. "Stressed investors are more likely to make irrational decisions that are not in tune with their financial goals."

Among financial advisors who said they had set clear personal and professional goals, those reporting lower stress levels were much likelier to have achieved or exceeded those goals. For those struggling to meet their goals, 35% cited poor time management, 33% mindset and 27% ineffective use of technology as the main culprits.

As to the main causes of stress for financial advisors, the data showed that 65% of advisors felt that maintaining proper work/life balance was either somewhat or very stressful. Fifty-six percent said it was building a business, and 53% pointed to meeting client expectations.

"Every day in our work with advisors we see how stress permeates their personal and professional lives," Michael Futterman, head of Janus Henderson Knowledge Labs Professional Development, said in the statement. "We have found that increased stress is getting in the way of advisors doing what they do best — taking care of their clients."

Janus Henderson offers resources to help financial advisors cope with stress.