Despite continued economic and market uncertainty, most financial advisors still expect 2013 to be a good year according to a new poll released today bySEI.
The poll, completed by more than 100 advisors, suggests that advisor attitudes are becoming increasingly optimistic despite some ongoing hurdles and uncertainty. In fact, the vast majority of advisors polled (75%) think business profits will be better this year than last.
When asked about 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 that the S&P index will close the year above 1650. Just about 1 in 10 advisors polled (12%) said they are confident we'll see new record highs for the S&P in the second half of the year.
"We've seen it and the poll shows it, advisors are seeing strong business results and their optimism is growing," saidKevin Crowe, the head of product development forSEI Advisor Network."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."
In addition to questions about their outlook for the markets, advisors were also asked to identify the biggest obstacles to growth for the rest of 2013. Regarding the top hurdle to economic growth, the top response was "federal debt" (42%) followed by "tax policy" (31%).
For 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. 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.
