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April 14, 2020 at 10:21 AM
The cascade of bad news in March surrounding the domestic spread of the coronavirus is taking a big toll of advisory clients, the American College of Financial Services reported last week.
The college conducted a follow-up survey of retirement advisors in late March to find out how clients’ sentiments had changed since the first poll was conducted earlier in the month.
In a word, folks are scared.
Three in five advisors in the follow-up survey reported that clients were more concerned about their retirement prospects than they were a month ago.
Ninety-three percent said their clients had contacted them with concerns about their retirement plans because of the escalating effects of the pandemic and resulting market volatility, compared with 66% in early March who said clients had been in touch.
“Our findings show a real and marked increase in anxiety, which is certainly understandable given how quickly things have shifted in a month,” Wade Pfau, co-director of the college’s Center for Retirement Income, said in a statement.
“The good news, though, is that we’re also seeing advisors and clients alike increasing their communication with each other to respond to these concerns, which is the key ingredient to successful financial planning.”
The follow-up survey was conducted from April 1 to April 6 among 123 advisors.
