A majority of financial advisory clients have been very satisfied with the performance of their providers since the onset of the financial crisis and market meltdown, according to a new analysis by Advisor Impact. But Julie Littlechild, president of the firm, shares one important caveat: Almost 10% of clients were neutral, dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their advisors at the end of the first quarter of 2009, almost twice the amount of those who felt that way in 2008.

Dissatisfied clients may actually be unhappy about the financial markets, but have projected their distress onto their advisors. From their perspective, advisors are lagging in three areas: performance of investment plans and portfolios, proactively managing the client relationship and having a clear plan to meet goals. Advisor Impact drew its conclusions from a recent snapshot of its five-year study, in which it regularly polled 56,000 clients about how their advisors are serving them. The company usually aggregates data an entire year at a time, but this year's first-quarter findings had important data on how advisors have fared since the meltdown happened.

Advisors in good stead with clients have done a better job of communicating their value, especially as planners, Littlechild says. They do more for their clients than pick stocks and review performance updates. "They are about the plan, helping to define goals and stay on track, and helping clients through difficult times," Littlechild says. They are actively guiding their clients through the current turmoil.

Overall, clients "strongly agree" that advisors return their calls promptly (84%); that the frequency of meetings fits their needs (66%); and that written communications they receive are valuable (64%). But clients want those meetings to be meaningful. In an appraisal of the types of advisor communications, clients valued both review meetings and performance reporting at 3.6 on a scale of one to four. Get those elements right and you can add communications like education and appreciation, Littlechild says.