Clients were most fearful of market volatility and politics during the first quarter of 2019, according to a new RIA survey.
Ninety-five percent of advisors reported their clients were interested in reallocating portfolios due to market volatility, and nearly nine out of 10 advisors (88 percent) said that the political climate was a key part of client conversation, according to Eaton Vance’s Spring 2019 Advisor Top-of-Mind Index (ATOMIX) survey.
Seventy-five percent said that fear was their clients’ primary motivator, the survey said.
Many advisors maintained their focus on portfolio tax efficiency, utilizing several tactics to mitigate clients’ tax bite, including municipal strategies (37 percent); opting for tax-managed equity strategies (32 percent); using tax-loss harvesting (25 percent); and managing high capital gains (7 percent), the survey said.
Sixty-one percent of RIAs said their clients had concentrated stock positions that could trigger capital gains taxes when sold.
The report was based on an online survey of 600 financial advisors in February and March.