Nearly four out of five financial advisors (79 percent) see slow and steady growth ahead for the U.S. economy, up from 41 percent one year ago. But few see an economic boom coming. These figures come from a survey released today by SEI.
Ninety-three percent of advisors who responded to SEI’s survey anticipated a modest level of growth for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Seventy-six percent thought growth would be between zero and 10 percent this year, while an additional 17 percent thought growth would be between 11 and 20 percent.
“It seems like the psychological aftereffects of the recession are finally starting to wear off and advisors are becoming more optimistic about the market,” said Steve Onofrio, senior vice president of sales and service at SEI Advisor Network. “They may not be ready to predict huge returns, but even anticipating slow growth is an improvement over where most advisors were a year ago. It will be critical for advisors to now start communicating that optimism to their clients.”
According to the survey, advisors have the financial resources but not the time to make technological improvements to their customer relationship management systems. Fifty-four percent said that their focus on daily operations was keeping them from staying up to date with the latest technology tools. Only 5 percent said their biggest barrier to integrated technology was a lack of financial resources.
LinkedIn has been the most effective social media tool for 82 percent of advisors in helping them build their business. Only 5 percent listed Facebook and Twitter, says SEI. However, 56 percent said that legal restrictions and regulations are their biggest challenge in using the various social media platforms.
The survey of 170 advisors was conducted by SEI at its recent National Strategic Advisor Conference.