The jump in economic growth to a juicy average of 4.8 percent annualized in the second and third quarters apparently wasn't enough to soothe the concerns of many financial advisers that we're not out of the woods yet.
A total of 50 percent of 301 independent advisers surveyed by Maritz for
TD Ameritrade are optimistic about the economy, while 34 percent are neutral and 17 percent are pessimistic.
In addition, 65 percent of the respondents said that geopolitical tension in Russia, the Middle East and elsewhere has negatively affected their clients' views about financial markets.
Exposure to U.S. equities has increased 23 percent since 2010, from 43 percent to 53 percent, while holdings in international equities have dropped by 40 percent, from 15 percent to 9 percent.
Meanwhile, when assessing the performance of your financial adviser, it's not just a matter of returns, experts say.
"Returns are a piece of the puzzle," Tom Robinson, managing director for the Americas at the CFA Institute, told
The New York Times. "But I'd probably look at those last."
Times writer Paul Sullivan lists several other areas to focus on too:
- Expertise and Personality. "A tough question to ask your adviser is what he or she really knows. You may be with someone whose advisory practice does not match your needs," he writes.
- Conversations. Is your adviser available when you need him/her? Is your adviser honest in assessing your financial performance and situation?
- Responsibility. Eleanor Blayney, consumer advocate at the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, told The Times you should ask yourself: "What decisions has your adviser helped you make this year? What decisions have we made together? What can he help me with? If it's just going to be decisions about buying and selling, you may want more."
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