Financial Optimism Rises Among Advisors and Investors
Negativity in the market has significantly waned among financial advisors and clients, reports new findings out today from the CFP Board.
The CFP Professionals Sentiment Indices (CPSI) found that 16% of advisors say their clients currently have a negative financial outlook, down from 36% in the spring. Similarly, only 9% of advisors report feeling pessimistic about finances, a decline from 21% the season prior.
Instead, close to half of CFP professionals report a positive financial outlook among clients—nearly double the amount who felt their clients had an upbeat outlook in the spring 2025 survey. The number of CFP professionals who feel optimistic over their finances also rebounded in summer 2025, at three in five advisors compared to 59% of advisors in the winter and 67% in the fall of last year.
Despite the optimism, one quarter of CFP professionals report feeling more cynical over their personal financial outlook compared to a year ago.
Overall, CFP professionals remain cautiously optimistic for the year ahead, with 37% expecting better economic conditions 12 months from now, compared to 33% who anticipate economic conditions to remain unchanged and 30% who foresee a deterioration, the CFP Board reports.
Looking ahead, 73% of CFP professionals expect to take on additional clients over the next 12 months, especially as 63% say their client bases have expanded in the past year.
The findings highlight a different attitude among investors and advisors in the past months. Recent research from self-directed individual retirement account (IRA) platform Alto found that only 12% of investors believe the current market will support their retirement.
This was particularly felt among the Gen X community, who reported a median retirement savings of just $82,000, compared to $289,000 for Baby Boomers.
“The investing playbook no longer fits the way we are planning for retirement,” said Eric Satz, founder and CEO of Alto, in a statement at the time. “As an industry, we have a responsibility to evolve to empower investors with greater choice, more flexibility, and the tools to take control of their financial futures.”
The CPSI tracks the financial outlooks for over 100,000 CFP professionals. Each quarter, the CFP Board’s Research team sends an eight-question survey to 15,000 randomly selected CFP professionals. The Summer 2025 CPSI included responses from 488 CFP professionals recorded in mid-July.
SEE ALSO:
Investors Turning to Alts as Confidence in Stock Market Declines
Amanda Umpierrez is the Managing Editor of 401(k) Specialist magazine. She is a financial services reporter with nearly a decade of experience and a passion for telling stories and reporting news. She is originally from Queens, New York, but now resides in Denver, Colorado.
