Even after the volatility in October and worries about a coming market correction, the majority of advisors believe the bull market will continue in 2015.
In a survey of 463 financial advisors released Wednesday by SEI Advisor Network, 96 percent said they felt either cautiously optimist or excited about the coming year. Eighty-five percent said markets would be as good or better than in 2014.
“Advisors have clearly taken note of how strong the markets have been in 2014, even in the face of geopolitical uncertainty and shifting investor sentiment,” Steve Onofrio, SEI’s senior vice president of sales and service, said in a statement.
More than half of those surveyed thought that the Dow Jones Industrial Average would finish above the 17,500 mark in 2015, which it surpassed on Nov. 6.
The survey reflects the results of WealthManagement.com’s recent Advisor Confidence Index, a monthly benchmark of advisors' confidence in the economy. In November, advisor confidence spiked 3.7 percent, the largest monthly gain in a year.
SEI also found that advisors are confident that the market will be good for their firms. Seventy-two percent anticipated that their firm would grow at least 5 percent in 2014, and 33 percent believed their firm would grow between 10 and 15 percent.
The study also examined advisor thoughts on client segmentation and behavior, retirement planning and technology. More information about the SEI survey can be found here.
