Pioneer Investments, a global investment firm with $198 billion in assets as of Sept. 30, announced Monday an educational program that focuses on major planning issues advisors are facing.
The program is called VIP for its emphasis on volatility, income generation and perspectives on the market. Those issues are not new, according to Joseph Kringdon, executive vice president and head of U.S. retail distribution and marketing for Pioneer, but the VIP program is an attempt to help advisors “organize those thoughts” and provide “context for those conversations.”
“Our mantra around here is ‘Clients come first,’” Kringdon (right) told AdvisorOne on Tuesday. “We listen to issues that are happening at the point of sale and provide intellectual context.”
What they’ve heard for some time, Kringdon said, is that advisors and clients have a lot of concerns about the election, fiscal cliff, tax rate increases, confusion over issues in the eurozone and nervousness about the markets.
“Advisors are saying their clients don’t know what to do and they don’t know what to do,” Kringdon said. “The market has them paralyzed and money is piling up on the sidelines.”