Bullish sentiment is gaining ground among registered investment advisors. They are spending more readily than a year ago, the latest advisor sentiment survey sponsored by TD Ameritrade Institutional shows.
The report released this morning says that 34 percent of advisors have increased their spending in the preceding three months, compared to a year ago when just 24 percent upped their spending. Ten percent of advisors said they had decreased their spending, down from 17 percent a year earlier, the survey says.
Technology remains by far the top reason why RIAs are writing more checks. TDA said 75 percent of those polled said they had boosted spending in that area, compared with 71 percent a year earlier. The share of RIAs who said they were spending more on marketing and client appreciation activities or entertainment was down, however. Just 46 percent said they were spending more on marketing, down from 62 percent; for schmoozing, just 23 percent said they spent more, down from 32 percent.
Business continues to do better, the advisors indicated, with 73 percent reporting an increase in clients in the previous six months. That number is up from 68 percent a year earlier.
The poll, conducted by Maritz, surveyed 501 RIAs during the week of March 21-April 1.