OppenheimerFunds’ third annual high-net-worth study, titled The Generations Project, revealed some serious disconnects between advisors and their clients. The study found that 41 percent of advisors reported that transparency was the most important quality for advisors, while only 23 percent of millennials clients agreed. Other disconnects include: 94 percent of advisors said high-net-worth family clients argue over money, while 64 percent of clients agreed; 58 percent of advisors cited inheritance and estate planning as flash points for their clients, while only 12 percent of investors agreed; and 48 percent of advisors said clients have conflicts over discretionary spending, but only 20 percent of clients said the same.
Swell Launches Impact Investors for Advisors
Swell Investing, an impact investing platform mapped to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, has launched “Swell for Financial Advisors” to help them guide their clients through socially responsible investing portfolios. Swell has partnered with Folio Institutional to give clients of the 450 firms using its platform access to Swell’s thematic portfolios. “Our mission at Swell is to ensure every dollar invested has a positive impact on the world,” Swell Investing CEO Dave Fanger said: “Offering Swell to advisors through Folio’s platform greatly expands access to impact investing.”
Advisors Like Their Jobs But Independence Beckons
Charles Schwab Independent Branch Services, a line of business that effectively franchises Schwab branches to experienced advisors, conducted a study that showed advisors are happy in their careers. But those advisors are interested in more autonomy and independence, according the study. Among the chief complaints, 86 percent considered themselves successful but 26 percent also said they fear compromising their personal values in their professional lives. Out of those surveyed, 26 percent also said they’ve been promised things by employers that were never delivered.
