SEI Survey: Advisors Cautiously Optimistic for Remainder of 2013

Despite continued economic and market uncertainty, most financial advisors still expect 2013 to be a good year according to a new poll released today 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. 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.

"We've seen it and the poll shows it, advisors are seeing strong business results and their optimism is growing," said Kevin Crowe, Head of Product Development, SEI 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 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%). In 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.

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