They continue to monitor inflation and portfolio positioning as geopolitical conflicts shift
Security Benefit Releases Q2 Economic Outlook Survey
TOPEKA, Kan.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–With this month’s Federal Reserve meeting fast approaching, financial professionals are closely monitoring portfolios and inflation following an uptick of 4.1% per the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index. Today, Security Benefit released the findings of its quarterly financial professional survey, which found that 51% of respondents now believe that inflation will fall between 3-3.9% in the next twelve months.
“Despite equity market swings these past few weeks, markets are still at near-term highs and financial professionals, and their clients remain cautious about inflation and its impact on household budgets,” said David Byrnes, Head of Distribution at Security Benefit. “Staying close to portfolios and balancing risks while positioning to capture future market opportunities is vital as we head into the rest of the year.”
Though financial professionals have conflicting views on how far inflation could rise in the next twelve months, half (56%) think the likelihood of a recession in this same time period is low or not likely. But 10% of those surveyed are skeptical and believe a recession is almost certain or highly likely, in comparison to just 4% in Q1.
Security Benefit’s index also found that views on volatility are relatively unchanged since the beginning of the year, despite a decrease in optimism over the last quarter as the Economic Outlook Index fell to 55, compared to 59 in Q1.
Planning Perils
In response to ongoing uncertainty, financial professionals continue adjusting portfolios while avoiding major shifts in overall market outlook.
Financial professionals overwhelmingly cite geopolitical instability (76%) as the most difficult risk to plan for, followed by new legislation (38%) and market volatility (35%). What’s more, allocations to international equities remain a priority as 39% of financial professionals have increased allocations to them in the past six months.
With clients looking to the second half of the year and the potential for regulatory changes, more than half (51%) of financial professionals say the midterm elections in the U.S. will have little to no impact on financial markets. There is an even split among those who believe there will be an impact, with 25% citing any market change to be positive and 24% noting it will be negative.
Even as volatility and geopolitical tensions cause ripples in the equity market, 70% of financial professionals say downside protection products play either a supporting or limited role in their portfolio strategy.
“Annuities and other products that provide protection from loss of principal are often underestimated, even in volatile markets where they can help clients participate in index-linked growth while providing valuable protection,” said Justin Jacquinot, Head of IMO & RIA Sales at Security Benefit. The findings revealed that RIAs are more likely to plan for a range of outcomes, while non-RIAs more often plan for specific outcomes they expect will happen. In either case, annuities are all-weather vehicles that can be used across advisor needs.
AI Continues to Support Practice Management
With client relationships being the priority for many financial professionals, artificial intelligence is helping relieve more monotonous tasks like taking notes during meetings (50%), marketing and appointment coordination (21%), and investment reporting (14%). AI is also a common tool for financial professionals when evaluating financial products (35%) and allocating assets or building portfolios (18%). That said, most believe its greatest impact is taking notes during meetings (47%). An overwhelming majority (71%) of financial professionals said they feel comfortable using AI professionally.
