Younger investors in all three wealth segments express less satisfaction in their advisor than older investors, many of whom have long-term relationships with their advisor, according to research from Spectrem Group.
Among mass affluent investors (with a net worth between USD100,000 and USD1 million) overall satisfaction is at 69 per cent, but is only 56 per cent among investors between the ages of 36 and 44.
Almost two-thirds of ultra high net worth investors (with a net worth between USD5 million and USD25 million) would change their financial advisor if they do not get phone calls returned in a timely manner, and more than half feel the same way about email communication.
While only a small percentage of financial advisors have a legal fiduciary relationship with their clients, most investors believe their relationship includes a fiduciary duty. Among millionaire investors (with a net worth between USD1 million and USD5 million) 85 per cent feel their advisor is a fiduciary.
"There is a disconnect between an investor's understanding of a fiduciary relationship and an advisor's," says George H Walper Jr, president of Spectrem Group. "This disconnect could lead to major conflict between the investor and the advisor if the reality does not match the expectation when it comes to fiduciary responsibility."
