Survey: Focus on These Two Types of Investors, Not DemographicsSurvey: Focus on These Two Types of Investors, Not Demographics

As advisors look toward the future of financial advice, the changing demographics of clients have fewer implications for how they’ll need to evolve. A better approach to prospecting, according to a new survey by Edward Jones and Dow Jones Intelligence, is to focus on two types of clients—“traditionalists” and “trailblazers.”

The survey found that 55% of investors consider themselves “traditionalists,” defined as folks who are “more optimistic about future market performance and are more likely to be comfortable with a buy-and-hold strategy.”

“Trailblazers” comprise 45% of investors, the survey found. These folks are more pessimistic about markets and transparent about their finances. They find advisors through referrals from friends and family, and they’re more likely to research an advisor or firm before reaching out.

These investors are looking for hyperpersonalized solutions; they demand technology alongside their advisory relationship; and they want deeper relationships with their advisor. They may sound more demanding, but that also means they tend to have just one advisory relationship, compared with “traditionalists,” who tend to have multiple advisors.

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