The 2008-2009 global financial crisis dealt a severe blow to investor confidence in financial markets, including regulators, ratings agencies and those on the front-line of risk management — personal financial advisors. Following the crisis, investors grew distrustful of the financial advice they had received and the products their advisors had sold them. As a result, many investors pulled money away from their advisors, either to manage it on their own or to redirect assets to other — often multiple — advisors, whom they perceived as being more independent and better able to provide customized advice. But using multiple advisors has led many investors to unwittingly increase risk rather than dilute it as intended. That is because using multiple advisors to work out portfolio strategies independently often can lead to overlapping exposures or to divergent allocations that result in neutral market positions.
This special report looks at the implications of failing to have a lead advisor at a time when investors are searching for unbiased, personalized financial advice they can trust. It also offers practical insights into how advisors can rebuild trust and differentiate their value by becoming the lead advisor for emerging affluent investors, a grossly underserved market segment.
