Financial advisors are upbeat as the new year draws near, expecting 2013’s bull market to continue in 2014. A huge proportion see good times ahead, according to a survey of 800 advisors conducted by the SEI Advisor Network, a provider of outsourced asset management and practice management programs.
Fully 87% see an advancing market, with more than half predicting the Dow Jones Industrial Average will reach into the 16,500 to 17,500 range and another 10% envisioning the Dow at about 17,500. (Just 13% expect the Dow to be under 16,000 a year from now.)
The most feared adverse events are a market pullback (41%), tapering (24%) and tax hikes (15%).
In terms of their own businesses, advisors resolved to concentrate on five key areas:
1. increase referrals from current clients (85%)
2. systematize internal processes to increase efficiency (67%)
3. integrate technology to increase efficiency (59%)
4. meet new centers of influence (59%)
5. be more selective of new clients (48%)
