Experienced. Results oriented. Focused on serving the needs of individuals and families. Confident in your abilities. Eager to expand your knowledge. If this sounds like you, you’re not alone. These are the traits that stand out among Advisor Perspectives readers , based on the findings of our 2012 Reader Survey.
The survey was sent to more than 300,000 financial advisors in November and December, and 1,572 participated. Their responses revealed a wealth of information about our audience and the kinds of content they value most on Advisor Perspectives.
Most are client-facing professionals
The vast majority of readers are investment professionals who manage assets for individuals, families and institutions.
Seventy-two percent are either registered reps, registered investment advisers or dually registered. Financial planners make up the next largest segment, followed by investment consultants and insurance agents.
Highly experienced, large practices and significant assets under management
The majority of our readers are industry veterans who are committed to expanding their knowledge of the issues that drive the economy, the markets and successful client relationships.
Seventy three percent have more than five years of experience, and 28% have been in the business for more than 20 years. Only 8% have a year or less of experience.
Many of our readers are committed to acquiring knowledge and skills that go beyond their core expertise, with 44% percent having earned one or more industry designations.
Nearly one-third are Certified Financial Planners, 10% are Chartered Financial Analysts, 8% are Chartered Financial Consultants and 8% are Chartered Retirement Planning Counselors. Smaller numbers have also earned CIMA, CLU, AIMA, LUCTF and AIF/AIFA designations. Eight percent have two or more designations.
Most of our readers have large practices and manage, on average, 135 relationships.
Thirty-seven percent manage 50 or fewer relationships, and 37% manage more than 100. Eight percent manage no relationships at all.
Of those who have clients, most manage significant pools of assets on their behalf.
Forty-four percent manage between $10 million and $100 million, and 21% manage over $100 million. Three percent manage $1 billion or more.
Focused on wealthier clients
Most of our readers cater their practices to meeting the needs of wealthier individuals and families. Seventy-seven percent indicated that over half of their clients are either mass-affluent or high-net-worth investors. These two segments are also the focus of most advisors’ client acquisition efforts.
Less than a quarter serve mainly institutional clients, such as retirement plans, endowments and foundations.
Diversified investment strategies, with a slant toward the traditional
While most readers use a variety of investments with their clients, commingled and traditional domestic products tend to dominate.
Mutual funds, stocks, ETFs and variable annuities are the most commonly used products. Over half use bonds and real estate. A little over one-third use preferred stock, gold, fixed annuities and multi-asset products such as balanced and target-date funds. Less than one in five use hedge funds, foreign bonds, managed futures and structured products.
A high degree of confidence
When asked which activities they found to be ‘very challenging’ or ‘not challenging at all,’ our readers expressed a high degree of confidence in their ability to address the needs of their clients.
Their most critical challenges? Acquiring new clients and keeping up with ever-changing compliance and regulatory requirements.
Educational needs
In terms of furthering their own education, our readers are most interested in financial planning and specialized investment strategies.
An aging population and constantly shifting tax laws are driving an interest among many investment professionals to become more conversant in tax and estate planning and philanthropy. The pursuit of alpha and total return is generating a strong interest in hedging strategies. Conversely, fewer than one in five consider learning more about stocks, bonds, mutual funds, separate accounts, college savings accounts and individual or institutional retirement plans to be a priority.
Advisors’ educational aspirations and their desire to improve returns and gain new clients are also reflected in the kinds of content they find most valuable on Advisor Perspectives.
More than half seek more insights on the issues driving the U.S. economy, and over 40% highly value Advisor Perspectives’ articles on financial planning, investment strategies and domestic and foreign markets. And more than a third value its articles that offer client acquisition strategies.
Most of the findings from the survey confirm what we know through our analysis of the most popular content on Advisor Perspectives and from the hundreds of thoughtful and insightful letters advisors like you have sent to us over the years. Our readers are successful, sophisticated industry veterans with a passion for expanding their knowledge of the markets and learning new strategies to gain and retain client relationships.
Jeff Briskin is the director of marketing for Advisor Perspectives and president of Briskin Consulting, a strategic marketing and creative services firm catering to investment companies and financial advisors.
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