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Four in five financial professionals in a new survey by Incapital said their clients had been calling more often since the market upheaval in March, and nearly all said clients had shown confidence and patience by not changing investments.
But that was not without some effort by advisors. Fifty-eight percent of survey respondents said they had to persuade clients not to sell at the market's bottom.
In fact, 67% of financial professionals said their clients were more concerned with short-term market gyrations than having enough money in retirement, and 97% said clients were concerned about the Nov. 3 election and its effect on their investments.
That may explain why the vast majority of advisors also said their clients would give up a portion of market upside for downside protection, Incapital noted.
"Since March, uncertainty has reigned over our lives and over the markets," Chris Mee, Incapital's head of wealth management solutions distribution, said in a statement. "It's no wonder clients have been calling their advisors more frequently for guidance."
The survey was conducted online via Qualtrics by Red Zone Marketing in mid-September among 752 including wealth managers, fiduciaries, financial planners and brokers from more than 50 broker-dealers and RIAs.
Revenue Growth Expected in 2020
Eighty-three percent of financial professionals surveyed said they expected revenue growth in 2020, up from 75% surveyed by Incapital in June. And 11% expected revenue growth of 30% or more, up from 7% in the June survey.
The percentage who said they would serve more households in 2020 than they did in 2019 also went up from 38% in June to 47% in September.
"Helping their clients stay the course with investments that meet their risk tolerance is what makes advisors so valuable, especially during periods of intense volatility and uncertainty, like today," Mee said.
