Ninety-five percent of U.S. financial advisors in Eaton Vance’s Spring 2019 Advisor Top-of-Mind Index survey said their clients had expressed interest in reallocating portfolios either to deal with or to capitalize on recent market volatility.
The ATOMIX survey showed that managing volatility was advisors’ main concern in the first quarter, coming in at 128.2, up slightly from the fourth quarter.
Generating income fell way back from being advisors’ top concern in the October-to-December period at 129.7, to 91.8.
Advisors were helping clients grow wealth, but as a goal, that too receded from a fourth-quarter index high of 114.5, to 85.
Four out of five advisors reported that the current political environment was an important part of client conversations, and three-fourths said fear was currently the chief client motivator, a big increase since the fourth quarter.