Dalbar's Best Interest Spread Analysis, released Friday, examines how investment professionals can perform in the best interest of investors.
In a survey, Dalbar asked a representative sample of investors to report what they considered in their best interest, and analyzed how those interests vary based on age, gender, geography and income.
In aggregate, the survey showed which interests these investors considered most important. This produced a scoring of the interests by importance.
The major conclusion from this work was that interests as defined by investment professionals are not in sync with what investors considered to be in their best interest.
Key Findings
The analysis found that male and female participants exhibit little difference when compared with other breakdowns. The largest spread came on ensuring that the investor pays only for the services actually used.
The survey found that mature respondents, those over 45, place far more importance on their best interests than their younger counterparts do, and that considerable differences exist among the older generations.
