Losing sleep over the shape of the markets? You’re not alone. An SEI Advisor Network survey this month of 200 advisors reported that only 25 percent reporting sleeping well in 2011.
Yet paradoxically, many had a good year; 40 percent said their firms’ net new assets grew by more than 10 percent, and 12 percent saw it grow by more than 20 percent. About two-thirds said they have been in the business at least 15 years.
Advisors may be channeling their clients’ anxieties. Many investors realized they aren’t as risk-tolerant as they thought they were, their advisors told the pollsters; 40 percent of advisors said that global instability dominated their talks with clients. Indeed, “personal communication” ranked as the top demand that clients made on their advisors, the survey said, outdistancing the desire for reports or educational services. Most advisors who spoke with Registered Rep. about their experiences with clients during and after the volatile markets of August said they had similar experiences.
It may be changing the way advisors manage their practices. Forty-five percent told SEI that their top priority is to “strengthen existing client relationships,” as opposed to growing their firms.