Financial advisors are exhibiting increasing concern on investing in international markets, according to a new study.

The first quarter results of the Fidelity Advisor Investment Pulse revealed a significant jump in financial advisors’ focus on portfolio management and international investing, the financial services firm announced in a Thursday press release.

“In a volatile market environment, one of the biggest challenges for advisors is how to help clients diversify their portfolio effectively without taking on undue risk,” Scott E. Couto, president of Fidelity Financial Advisor Solutions, said in a statement. “What we’re hearing is that advisors are trying to leverage multiple asset classes to strike a balance between risk and reward. Their clients want to keep some peace of mind with fairly low-risk investments while potentially increasing returns.”

While portfolio management has become advisor’s primary concern, up from No. 3 in Q4 2014, market volatility, interest rates and fixed income rounded out the top four. International investing tied with yield as the fifth-most important concern for advisors, marking its first appearance in the survey’s top five results.

Advisors told the surveyors that they want to better understand how to allocate between domestic and international investments, and how to navigate the political instability in regions like Ukraine and the Middle East, economic uncertainty in Europe, and the effect of the rising dollar on non-domestic equities and treasuries.

Couto said that advisors are looking to international investments to help their clients diversify and balance their portfolios.

“As economies stabilize and recoveries continue, some regions, sectors and companies may present a surprising potential for upside growth,” Couto said. “The rest of the world may be more complicated, but opportunities are emerging and advisors should position their clients to take advantage.”

Fidelity listed expanded opportunities, higher potential for growth, and occasional valuation anomalies as reasons advisors might want to help their clients participate in international markets.