Investors are generally loyal to their financial advisors, but this isn’t necessarily leading to referrals, a new survey suggests.
Environics Research Group Ltd. conducted the survey of advisor clients for fintech Systelos Inc. Both firms are based in Toronto.
The survey finds only 12% of respondents say they have fired an advisor, and just 6% say they were not loyal to their advisor.
In spite of this apparent customer loyalty, only 47% of clients say they have recommended their advisor to a family member.
“Saying you are loyal to your advisor and being confident enough to recommend them are clearly two different things,” says Jad Chehlawi, founder of Systelos, in a statement. “This uncovers that deep down inside, investors feel like something is off but don’t know what they need to fill the void.”
The survey suggests a couple of reasons why a high degree of client loyalty may not be translating into referrals. For one, 74% of clients say that their advisors “are not engaging … in all aspects of their financial lives”.
Specifically, only 19% of clients say they are getting tax planning help from their advisor, 16% say they get insurance advice, and, 10% say their advisors are helping with legal affairs, such as their wills.
The survey also finds 65% of clients want to share decision making with their advisor, but the majority (77%) can’t track their advisors work in real time, creating real barriers to collaboration.
The survey’s findings confirm that advisors need to revisit how and where they create value, Chelawi says.