To comply with changing international privacy requirements, ICI informs its visitors that we use cookies on our web site. ICI only uses cookies to allow subscribers and members to more easily use our site and to record site utilization. No personal or private information is gathered or stored. More details, including how to disable cookies, can be found on our privacy and cookie policy page. If you disable cookies, you will see this message on future visits to our site. Please click the enable button to consent to accepting cookies.
  • ICI Global
  • Independent Director's Council
Sign In  |  Forgot Password?
Advanced | Tips
  • Home
  • Policy Priorities
    • Fund Regulation
    • Retirement Security
    • Trading & Markets
    • Fund Governance
    • Taxes
    • ICI Comment Letters
  • Research & Statistics
    • Industry Research
    • Investor Research
    • Retirement Research
    • Statistics
  • Government Affairs
    • Financial Services
    • Retirement Security
    • Tax
    • Testimony
  • Industry Operations
    • Fund Accounting, Financial Reporting, and Valuation
    • Fund Distribution, Fund Clearance, and Settlement
    • Operations, Transfer Agent Servicing, and Recordkeeping
    • Portfolio Security Operations
    • Resource Centers
    • Technology, Business Continuity, and Information Security
  • News & Media
    • Media Contacts
    • News Releases
    • Blog: ICI Viewpoints
    • Speeches & Commentaries
    • Opinions & Responses
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
  • Publications & Resources
    • Resource Centers
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Fact Books
    • Research Publications
    • White Papers
    • Annual Reports
  • Events
    • ICI Events
    • ICI Global Events
    • IDC Events
    • Past Event Highlights
    • Sponsorship Opportunities
    • The Talent Connection
    • Event Contacts
  • About ICI
    • Mission & History
    • Board & Leadership
    • Membership
    • Annual Reports
    • ICI Education Foundation
    • The Talent Connection
    • Business Continuity
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Fund Regulation
    • Advertising
    • Broker-Dealer & Principal Underwriter Issues
    • CFTC Rule 4.5
    • Compliance
    • Derivatives
    • Disclosure
    • Electronic Delivery
    • Enforcement Actions
    • Fees
    • Financial Stability
    • Fixed-Income Securities
    • Investment Advisers
    • International
    • Municipal Securities
    • Privacy
    • Products
    • Risk Management
    • State Issues
    • Valuation
  • Retirement Security
    • Support of a Defined Contribution System
    • Regulatory Activities
    • Legislation
    • International
    • Plan Type
    • State Issues
    • Current Topics
      • Target Date Funds
      • Money Market Funds
      • Fiduciary Definition
      • E-Delivery
      • Lifetime Income
      • Fee Disclosure
  • Trading & Markets
    • Domestic
    • Global
  • Fund Governance
    • Directors & Fund Governance
    • Corporate Governance
  • Taxes
    • FATCA
    • Foreign Tax Issues
    • Information Reporting
    • Legislation
    • State Tax Issues
    • U.S. Taxation of Mutual Funds & Shareholders
    • 529 Plans
  • ICI Comment Letters

Home Policy Priorities Fund Regulation Investment Advisers

Print this page

Mutual Fund Investors Rely on Professional Advice

Shareholders Say They Value the Numerous Investment Services Advisers Provide

Washington, DC, May 1, 2007 - Many mutual fund investors look to professional financial advisers to provide a wide range of investment and planning services and to help select and purchase fund shares, according to a recent survey by the Investment Company Institute. 

Among shareholders who hold funds outside retirement plans at work, 49 percent have used professional financial advisers to purchase funds and 33 percent have used both professional advisers and other sources.

The survey finds that in addition to fund purchases, nearly two-thirds of shareholders receive at least five distinct services from their advisers, including regular portfolio reviews, financial planning assistance, retirement asset management, and investment recommendations.

“The research shows that there is a valuable partnership between shareholders and financial advisers,” said Sarah Holden, Director of Retirement and Investor Research. “Respondents indicate that financial advisers enhance their investment decision-making, improve their chances of growing their money, and give them peace of mind about their investments.”

Additional survey findings include:

  • Certain events, such as receiving a lump sum of money or the birth of a child, often initially prompt fund investors to seek professional financial advice. More than one-quarter of shareholders with ongoing advisory relationships initially sought advice after receiving a lump sum, and about one-fifth sought advice in response to a major life event, such as a change in marital status, birth of a child, or death of a spouse or partner.
  • Investors choose to work with professional financial advisers because advisers have expertise that investors lack in specific areas. Most shareholders with ongoing advisory relationships use advisers because they want a financial expert to evaluate their total financial picture, assist them with asset allocation, ensure they are saving enough to meet financial goals, and explain investment options to them. Shareholders also seek professional financial advice because they want to improve their chances of growing their assets and have peace of mind about their investments.
  • Although a wide range of investors owns funds through advisers, some investor types are more likely to work with advisers than others. Shareholders who do not go online for investment information, older shareholders, shareholders with greater household financial assets, and female shareholders who are the household investment decision makers, are all more likely to have an ongoing advisory relationship.

The research, Why Do Mutual Fund Investors Use Professional Financial Advisers, is based on interviews with more than 1,000 households owning mutual funds outside workplace retirement plans. It reflects the experiences of both investors who have ongoing advisory relationships and those who do not.

 


top
  • About ICI
  • About IDC
  • About ICI Global
  • Privacy and Cookie Policy
  • Apply for User Account
  • Business Continuity
  • Contact ICI

Copyright © 2021 by the Investment Company Institute