Advisers trusted despite downturn

advisers/financial-advisers/financial-markets/

12 June 2008
| By Mike Taylor |

Despite the downturn in financial markets, investors remain remarkably confident in the abilities of their financial advisers, according to the latest Lifeplan ICFS Financial Advice Satisfaction Index.

The index has declined only slightly from 74.3 to 73.2 over the past six months, with the data suggesting that while clients have lost some faith in their advisers’ technical ability, they remained generally confident in other aspects of their performance.

What is more, the index showed that females were more satisfied with their advisers than males, and that older clients were likely to be more negative than their younger counterparts.

Commenting on the findings, Lifeplan general manager of strategy and development Matt Walsh said that it was not surprising to see the decline in the index given the market situation, but it was not a big decrease and there were several positive aspects in the underlying measures.

“The decline in the index is only due to some pockets in the investor market, namely the over 60s segment and those receiving advice for between five and 10 years, who have scored their advisers lower in terms of technical quality and trust,” he said.

“However, despite the market turmoil, all types of investors have scored their advisers higher in terms of performance perception,” Walsh said. “It would seem that the industry’s active communication strategy might be helping clients rein in their expectations of market returns and enhance comprehension of the benefit of a diversified portfolio.”

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest news and developments in wealth management industry

MARKET INSIGHTS

So we are now underwriting criminal scams?...

2 months 2 weeks ago

Glad to see the back of you Steve. You made financial more expensive, not more affordable as you claim, and presided ...

2 months 2 weeks ago

Completely agree Peter. The definition of 'significant change is circumstances relevant to the scope of the advice' is s...

4 months 3 weeks ago

ASIC has suspended the Australian Financial Services Licence of a Melbourne-based financial advice firm....

5 days 6 hours ago

The corporate regulator has issued infringement notices to three AFSLs whose financial advisers provided personal advice to a retail client while unregistered....

1 week 3 days ago

ASIC has released the results of its first adviser exam to be held in 2025, with 241 candidates attempting the test....

2 weeks 1 day ago

TOP PERFORMING FUNDS

ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND