Advisors have confidence equities will perform well this year, according to a survey by InspereX conducted before this week’s drop in the market. But volatility, which finally came to a head on Monday, is the biggest concern of advisors and their clients.

In the survey of 487 advisors, conducted in mid-July, 31% said both they and their clients were most worried about volatility in the market, according to the “InspereX Pulse Survey.” That worry was followed closely for clients by the impact that the presidential race could have: 29% of advisors said it was their clients’ biggest worry. Twenty eight percent said inflation was their clients’ biggest worry.

Advisors’ concerns were different from their clients’. After volatility, 21% of advisors worried most about inflation while 20% worried about interest rates. Only 9% of advisors are worried about the impact of the presidential election.

Despite their concerns, 78% of advisors in the survey were bullish about the S&P 500 and said they expect it will deliver more upside by the end of 2024, with 43% of advisors expecting additional gains of 5%. Thirty percent forecast a 10% upside, and 5% expected gains of 20% or more.

Only 9% of advisors said they expect an S&P 500 correction before year’s end, and only 1% forecast a bear market. Twelve percent said they expect the S&P 500 to be flat through the end of the year. No one anticipated a crash.

Eighty-two percent of the respondents said equities will be the top performing asset class in 2024, with alternatives coming in a distant second. Fifty-six percent of advisors expect particularly good returns from the Magnificent 7 stocks (Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla) for the rest of the year.

“The bulls have spoken. They see more upside in the S&P 500 for the rest of the year, which they expect will be exceeded by the Magnificent Seven,” said Chris Mee, managing director of InspereX, a tech-driven fixed-income and structured products distribution and trading firm. Mee made his comments in a press statement about the survey results.

“That said, advisor concerns are warranted given the return of volatility in recent sessions, and we know there are additional macroeconomic factors that can lead to further uncertainty,” Mee added. “All of this means it’s a good time to consider opportunities to stay invested in equities to benefit from the potential upside, while also protecting against downside in case circumstances change quickly. Because we know they can.”