The Investment Trends September 2014 Adviser Product Needs and Marketing Needs Report revealed that planners and advisers are looking to product providers for help in communicating high-level investment and economic themes to retail clients.
The report – compiled off the back of a survey of more than 700 financial planners – found that 74 per cent want “more information than they are currently receiving”, up from 58 per cent in 2012 and 39 per cent in 2013.
“We’ve seen planners’ demand for information and educational material increase across the range of products they use, including from fund managers,” said Investment Trends senior analyst Recep Peker, reflecting on the results of the survey.
“Right now, financial planners are after simple stories to tell their clients – they want fund managers to help them form a view on where the economy is headed and how to use their funds in the current economic environment.”
Mr Peker suggested that the surge in demand for fund manager communications may be concomitant with “the current increase in demand for financial advice from Australians”.
The report also found strong appetite for passive and index-based investment strategies, with fewer advisers recommending cash investments.
“Planners’ usage of indexing/passive investing is now at the highest level observed since we began measuring this in 2010,” Mr Peker said.
“We’re currently going through an interesting period where the average investor’s capital gain expectations from domestic equity markets is deteriorating, but at the same time there are many more who are seeking growth in their portfolios, perhaps because of suppressed yields.”
Meanwhile, demand for multi-region global equities products are also on the rise.
