Minimizing Fiduciary Risk Is Advisors' Top Priority in a Retirement Plan: Survey

What are the biggest hurdles advisors face when it comes to growing their retirement practice? What do advisors look for when helping clients select a retirement plan?

A new study aims to answer both questions. The digital retirement platform Vestwell launched its first 2018 Retirement Trends Report, which surveyed both advisors and plan sponsors from around the country.

For this report, Vestwell conducted a survey of financial advisors across the industry to gauge their perception of market trends and personal interests in the retirement planning industry. All advisors who do not sell retirement plans were disqualified, leaving Vestwell with 352 responses.

Advisors responded that they were most focused on identifying new opportunities, with nearly 30% saying so. The big hurdles advisors face include displacing incumbents, with nearly 25% saying this, and managing scale, with just over 23% saying this.

The survey then asked what advisors’ biggest priorities were for 2018.

“It is no surprise that despite the challenges advisors face, growing, servicing and retaining their client base remain the most important,” the report states.

According to the survey, nearly 57% of advisors see growing their client base as their biggest priority for the remainder of 2018 and 22% see servicing and retaining clients as their biggest priority.

The survey also finds that the more tactical initiatives of driving efficiencies and leveraging technology pale in comparison. According to the survey, 7% said better leveraging technology platforms was their biggest priority for 2018 and 13% said driving operational efficiencies, whereas only 1% said navigating regulatory changes.