Advisors Most Concerned About Market Volatility, Say Clients Are Too

According to the latest InspereX Pulse Survey of 487 financial advisors, the majority (78%) of advisors are bullish about the S&P 500 and expect it will deliver more upside by the end of 2024. Specifically, 43% of advisors expect additional gains of 5%; 30% forecast a 10% upside; and 5% see gains of 20% or more (based on the S&P 500 performance between July 8 – July 15).

Just 9% of advisors said they expect a S&P 500 correction (down 10%) before year-end; only 1% forecast a bear market (down 20%), and zero respondents expected the market to “crash.” Further, 12% said they expect the S&P 500 to be flat through year-end.

Magnificent bulls

More than eight-in-ten (82%) respondents said equities will be the top performing asset class in 2024, with alternatives coming in a distant second (5%).

The majority (56%) of advisors said the Magnificent 7 stocks (AAPL, AMZN, GOOG, META, MSFT, NVDA, TSLA) will outperform the S&P 500 from mid-July to the end of 2024.

Advisors most worried about volatility

Advisors say volatility is their top concern, and that their clients share the same worry.

Specifically, advisors said their clients were most worried about:

• Market volatility (31%)
• US Presidential election (29%)
• Inflation (28%)

Advisors said they were most worried about:

• Market volatility (31%)
• Inflation (21%)
• Interest rates (20%)

Just 9% of advisors are worried about the US Presidential election.

“The bulls have spoken: they see more upside in the S&P 500 for the rest of the year, which they expect will be exceeded by the Magnificent Seven,” said Chris Mee, Managing Director at InspereX. “That said, advisor concerns are warranted given the return of volatility in recent sessions, and we know there are additional macroeconomic factors that can lead to further uncertainty. All of this means it’s a good time to consider opportunities to stay invested in equities to benefit from the potential upside, while also protecting against downside in case circumstances change quickly. Because we know they can,” Mr. Mee added.

About the survey – View the 2024 Survey Results

InspereX is the tech-driven fixed income and structured products distribution and trading firm. The 2024 InspereX Pulse Survey was conducted between July 8-15, 2024 by Red Zone Marketing on behalf of InspereX. The 487 financial advisors responding work at independent broker/dealers, RIAs, banks, regional firms and wirehouses. During the survey period the S&P 500 high was 5666.94 and closed on July 15 at 5631.22.

About InspereX

InspereX was founded 25 years ago by Tom Ricketts, now our Chairman as well as the Executive Chairman of the Chicago Cubs. We pioneered delivering innovative, institutional-quality strategies and offerings to the retail market, and we’re now an industry leader in underwriting, marketing, and distributing a wide range of fixed income investments and structured products. Our ground-breaking investments, distribution, education, and technology have been recognized with dozens of awards. InspereX represents more than 400 issuing entities, distributes to more than 1,500 partners, and has underwritten more than $750 billion in securities. The firm has seven trading desks and more than 180 employees with offices in Delray Beach, Florida; San Francisco; Chicago; and New York City.

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