The survey of Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) across the country, undertaken by AXA Wealth Management, also demonstrates that IFAs anticipate a shift in client expectations and investment choices, with 41% of those polled believing stock market instability will result in an increase in the alternative investments business.
Almost half of IFAs said they would be recommending more cautious investment products and funds to customers in 2008. However, clients do not seem to be sharing this caution with over half of IFAs claiming that the current stock market volatility was having no impact on clients’ investment preferences. Just 12% of IFAs said their clients were sticking to cash-based investments until the market became less volatile. A further 6% said clients were favoring deposit-based investments and 6% were actually looking for capital protection.
Nick Turner, director of sales division at AXA Wealth Management, said: Supporting clients with their long term financial planning needs is a key area of growth for IFAs. During these difficult market conditions it is especially important to keep a close eye on client portfolios in order to provide some cushion from market fluctuations.
