Despite continued economic and market uncertainty, most financial advisors still expect 2013 to be a good year according to a new poll released by SEI.
In fact, the vast majority of advisors polled (75%) think business profits will be better this year than last. When asked their outlook on the market, more than half of respondents (54%) said they’re cautiously optimistic about the remainder of the year, and slightly more than that (58%) predict the S&P index will close the year above 1650.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
Just about 1 in 10 advisors polled (12%) said they’re confident we’ll see new record highs for the S&P in the second half of the year. The poll, completed by more than 100 advisors, suggests that advisor attitudes are becoming increasingly optimistic despite some ongoing hurdles and uncertainty.
Kevin Crowe, head of product development at SEI Advisor Network, said: "We’ve seen it and the poll shows it, advisors are seeing strong business results and their optimism is growing. No one is blind to the fact that there are still hurdles to overcome, but you can’t deny some of the eye-opening profits that advisors are predicting for 2013.
"Advisors have clearly taken advantage of opportunities in the first half of the year, and those who have the strongest business processes in place are most likely to carry that momentum into the end of the year and beyond," Crowe added.
In addition to questions about their outlook for the markets, advisors were also asked to identify the biggest challenges to growth for the rest of 2013. When asked what they anticipated as the top hurdle to economic growth, the top response was ‘federal debt’ (42%) followed by ‘tax policy’ (31%).
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataIn terms of the top challenges facing their businesses in the second half of the year, advisors cited ‘business development’ (37%) and ‘market volatility’ (28%) as the biggest hurdles to growth. Related to business development, nearly two-thirds of advisors polled (62%) believe they will be more active with social media in the second half of 2013 than they were in the first half.
Advisors were split when asked to predict when the Federal Reserve will wind down its bond buying program. Exactly half of those polled (50%) anticipate the program will end sometime during the remainder of 2013. When asked which sector they think will perform the strongest for the rest of 2013, advisors were split fairly evenly, pointing to energy (26%), health care (22%), and financials (19%), respectively. The next closest sector was consumer staples at 16%, while no other sector was selected by more than 6% of those polled.
