Seventy percent of advisors surveyed by Broadridge Financial Solutions say the changes they’ve made as a result of the pandemic are likely to continue into the future.
One of the biggest changes is in how advisors will interact with their clients. Almost 60% say the will continue having more virtual meetings, and few advisors are planning to return full time to their offices.
[Related: COVID’s Alarming Impact on Income: By the Numbers]
With change comes growth, at least judging from advisors’ responses. Over 70% say they expect AUM to increase in the next 12 months. Fewer than half who have returned to their offices spend five days a week there; that number drops to 15% among advisors who are planning their return.
The survey was fielded in July and August among over 400 advisors with at least $10 million in assets under management, including 20% of assets held in ETFs and mutual funds.
“As distribution organizations face the new reality of advisors working from home for an extended period of time, they need to adapt their outreach and support strategies in order to meet advisors where they are – at home and online,” Matthew Schiffman, Principal of Distribution Insights at Broadridge Financial Solutions, said in a statement. “The bar has now been raised, and the video conferencing wall is not coming down.”
Broadridge found that 22% of advisors say their wholesaler partners have been less helpful over the past few months. Respondents are looking for investment commentary and ideas, but also value resources on portfolio construction, marketing tools, education and content they can share with their clients.
“As advisors do more with less, asset managers’ distribution strategies need to keep up – whether that means providing market updates, newsletters, webinars, virtual lunches or even creative insight on acquiring new clients,” Schiffman said.
Other findings:
- There is a generational gap. Over three-quarters of Millennial advisors say they’ve been able to host productive virtual meetings, but just 58% of older advisors agree.
- Model portfolio adoption is increasing, with 53% of advisors saying they plan to use more models in the next two years.
- Almost a quarter of advisors say clients are increasingly interested in ESG funds, particularly those at wirehouses. Fewer than one in five advisors at IBDs and RIAs have seen the same interest.
- Actively managed mutual funds (79%) and ETFs (58%) are the most popular vehicles for ESG exposure.