Advisor-Benchmarking

Advisor Confidence Plunges

Wed, 01 May 2013 13:17:00 +0000

WealthManagement.com’s Advisor Confidence Index reveals advisors believe the market is due for a near-term pullback amid an economic recovery that remains fragile.

WealthManagement.com’s Advisor Confidence Index points to a pull back in equity markets and an economic recovery that remains fragile.

Financial Advisor Confidence in Markets Wanes

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 19:57:00 +0000

Optimism on future of the economy moderated in March

Penton’s WealthManagement.com Advisor Confidence Index (ACI), a benchmark of financial advisors’ views on the U.S. economy and the stock market, marked the slowest rate of growth since the end of last year on lowered optimism over the future of the U.S. economy and the stock market.

Financial Advisor Confidence Index Spikes in February

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:16:00 +0000

Optimism on future of the economy rises dramatically

Penton’s WealthManagement.com Advisor Confidence Index (ACI), a benchmark of financial advisors’ views on the U.S. economy and the stock market, rose by 8.4% in February 2013 to end at 109.7, the highest level it has been since April 2012.

Low Cost, Transparency and Ease of Trading Drive Advisors’ Use of ETFs

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 17:44:00 +0000

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) have been one of the bright spots in U.S. markets over the past few years—their assets have grown at almost 30% a year since 2005 and now total well over $1 trillion. In its most basic form, an ETF is an open-end fund (typically, tracking an index) that trades on an exchange. It has a unique creation and redemption process for primary transactions and provides daily transparency of holdings. Introduced in the U.S. 18 years ago, ETFs have been steadily gaining traction among investors and advisors. According to Morningstar, ETFs generate up to 40% of exchange trading volume

Advisor Confidence Index Decreases in November

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 19:07:00 +0000

Advisors Concerned About Fiscal Cliff

The Advisor Confidence Index (ACI), a benchmark that gauges advisor views on the U.S. economy and stock market, reports that advisor confidence decreased significantly in November, with the index decreasing 11.63% from the October level to close at 84.52.

Advisor Confidence Index Increases Slightly in October

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 18:14:00 +0000

The Advisor Confidence Index (ACI), a benchmark that gauges advisor views on the U.S. economy and stock market, reports that advisor confidence increased slightly in October, with the index increasing 0.91% from the September level to close at 95.65.

Advisor Confidence Index Falls in September

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 18:21:00 +0000

Advisors Concerned Over Market Uncertainty

The Advisor Confidence Index (ACI), a benchmark that gauges advisor views on the U.S. economy and stock market, reports that advisor confidence fell in September, with the index slipping 1.76% from the August level to close at 94.79.

Advisor Confidence Index Falls Slightly in August

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 18:26:00 +0000

The Advisor Confidence Index (ACI), a benchmark that gauges advisor views on the U.S. economy and stock market, reports that advisor confidence fell in August, with the index slipping 2.29% from the July level to close at 96.49.

Advisors’ Use of ETFs Continues to Grow

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 15:38:00 +0000

The popularity of the ETF as an investment vehicle continues to grow, with 1,250 U.S. ETFs holding $1.1 trillion in mid-2012, according to State Street Global Advisors. Mutual funds still hold the greatest amount of assets from advisors, about 40%, according to the latest AdvisorBenchmaking report. But ETFs represent the next-highest amount, around 14%, and it appears as though those percentages may continue to narrow. Since the beginning of 2012, investors have pulled almost $15 billion from U.S. stock funds, while boosting money put into ETFs by $16 billion, according to industry studies.

Advisors Increase Usage of Alternative Investments

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 15:58:00 +0000

Advocates of alternative investing often point to persistent market volatility as a good reason to hold more than just stocks, bonds and cash in a portfolio. These days, being long-only in the three basic asset classes means exposing a portfolio to the damaging effects of increasingly interdependent equity and fixed-income markets, which often rise and fall together in reaction to major market events. By combining traditional and alternative investments, investors may have the potential to profit within a variety of market environments.