Advisor Opinion Split on Recession’s End, According to Curian Capital Survey

Saying is one thing, doing another; especially when it comes to the advisor’s time management. That’s one finding from Curian Capital’s annual advisor survey released Wednesday.  Curian, the separately managed account arm of Jackson National Life, surveyed independent advisors to gauge how market volatility and the economic climate have impacted their perceptions in four main areas – economic outlook; product selection and investment strategies; business development; and platforms and providers.

“The advisor’s struggle with time management came through in this year’s survey,” said Mark Schoenbeck (left), senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Curian. “They say time management is a priority, but actually doing the required client segmentation and then changing their behavior is a whole other story.”

According to the survey, 62% of advisors say that improving efficiency and overall time management is a major goal for the coming year. Nearly 81% of respondents will focus on acquiring more affluent clients in 2011 and 59% plan to market their business more aggressively.

Advisors’ economic outlook is split nearly evenly, with 42% believing the recession is over and 46% believing it is not over. Also, the recent rise in the equity markets is not enough to impact clients’ risk tolerance; 88% of respondents say their clients’ risk tolerance is either lower or unchanged compared to a year ago. And more than two-thirds of advisors believe inflation is a growing concern that will begin to impact portfolio construction within the next two years.