The company just commissioned a survey of 300 advisers to study the daily challenges facing the industry's professionals. Among other more predictable responses, "consumer fear" ranked surprisingly high, with 81% of respondents including it as a top challenge. As custodians, broker-dealers and product sponsors alike compete for retail advisory business, the winners of the race to make the adviser's job easier are also likely to win the spoils of additional clientele. "Financial services companies as a whole," says Brown, "have historically done a poor job of explaining their product in simple terms everyone can understand."

According to the survey, advisers are hearing those same sentiments echoed by clients themselves. Some "76% of respondents said they want information in straightforward language," said Brown, when asked to describe the most surprising results of the survey. "This indicates that clients want easier-to-understand consumer information-not just more information."

But if it's better information that clients want from their adviser, most also want to make up their own minds. While only 22% of the adviser respondents think consumers value professionals "who provide information but allow customers to make decisions," 74% of consumers polled in the survey said this is, in fact, what they prefer.

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