Worry over retirement is seeing an uptick, with 52% of respondents to a new survey indicating concern about saving enough for retirement compared with 45% in June. Similarly, 50% fear running out of money in retirement versus 46% in June.
However, an “overwhelming majority” of investors who work with an advisor remain confident in their insight and guidance, even as 2022 closed with lingering concerns over inflation and the potential for continued market volatility.
State Street Global Advisors found the percentage of U.S. investors indicating they value their financial advisors’ knowledge and guidance even more during uncertain times held steady at 89% compared to June 2022, when it was 91%; 81% indicate their financial advisor has helped them remain confident in this period of rising inflation and market volatility, compared to 86% in June.
“Helping clients remain confident and committed during times of volatility can be a challenge for advisors whose clients may have a kneejerk reaction to abandon their investment strategy if markets get choppy,” Brie Williams, head of Practice Management at State Street Global Advisors, said in a statement. “Our survey found 86% of investors have discussed market volatility with their financial advisor and 83% say their advisor has informed them of how volatility will affect their long-term financial goals.”
The also survey found that even with volatility in the market, 57% of investors plan to keep their money ‘as is’ and stick to their long-term strategy, a sign that stay-the-course messaging is resonating.
Furthermore, 17% plan to leave their money as is, but opportunistically invest more if market conditions permit, while 18% indicate they will move money to other investments to reduce the risk of loss. A mere 8% plan to retreat to cash to avoid potential loss.
Top Financial Concerns
The survey found 71% of investors are “optimistic” or “very optimistic” about their own financial future over the next 12 months. While this number may seem high, it is significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels when it was 88% toward the end of 2019, at the close of a decade-long bull market.
Today, nearly three-quarters (74%) of investors are worried about inflation. Although inflation concerns have waned slightly since June (76%), they’re still relatively high when compared to the pre-pandemic levels of 71%.
Since last June, general concern over market volatility has declined 11 percentage points to 46%. Still, the percentage of those concerned about the value of their actual investments eroding has held steady since June, when it was at 59% compared to 56% today.
