People are paying more in taxes but talking to their advisors less about them, according to a group of financial professionals surveyed about their outlook by Russell Investments, which released the results Thursday.
More than half of the 295 advisors surveyed (53 percent) said their clients saw a larger tax burden in 2014 than the prior year. And yet the number of clients talking to the advisors about taxes this year is down to 22 percent from 29 percent last year.
Advisors are missing an opportunity to differentiate themselves from their competition if they are not talking with their clients about tax strategies, Russell says.
Eighty-one percent of the advisors’ clients are concerned about after-tax returns, but 37 percent of the taxable assets are not managed by the advisor, indicating that advisors who focus on tax-managed strategies could open the door to these assets, the survey says.
Nearly a third (32 percent) of advisors polled were not satisfied with the level of support and education they received from asset managers on tax-managed investing, and an additional 25 percent were unsure what educational programs were offered by the asset managers.
“These results confirm that myths continue to persist around tax-aware investing, and advisors still need to gain a better understanding of the range and capabilities of products available,” Russell says.