Benefits of advisers are clear, finds survey

Legg Mason Australia and New Zealand managing director Andy Sowerby said its Global Investment Survey showed that the benefits of an adviser were clear.

“The benefits of advice are very clear in this survey. So the strength of an advised client's portfolio verses a non-advised client portfolio and how they feel about that portfolio and how they are thinking about the future are actually quite distinct,” he said.

Some of those strengths were a greater exposure to ESG funds and global markets, said Mr Sowerby.

“Fifty-nine per cent of advised investors use ESG funds versus only 18 per cent of DIY investors. Similarly, 46 per cent of DIY investors do not invest in global markets versus only 15 per cent of advised investors,” he said.

That asset allocation difference could also be seen in how confident the investors felt in the market, said Mr Sowerby.

“Advised investors see volatility as opportunity but DIY investors see volatility as a threat, very distinct differences,” he said.

Mr Sowerby also said many advised investors felt more confident in their future, with 71 per cent of advised investors confident compared with just 55 per cent of DIY investors.

“There’s a question in the survey that asks ‘are you confident you have enough for retirement?’, with 69 per cent of advised investors believing they have a plan for retirement whereas just 54 per cent of DIY investors felt confident about having enough money to look after themselves in their golden years,” he said.

However, the group most likely to seek advice, according to Mr Sowerby, was not those nearing retirement but those that were just starting out in investments.

“Millennials love advisers so often Millennials, 60 per cent of them said they use an adviser for the majority of their decisions, which is significantly more than Baby Boomers,” he said.

Overall the survey found Australian investors to be more confident that the global average in the market.

“Investor views are maturing, they remain quite confident about the outlook for investment markets, despite the myriad of uncertainties that have impacted sentiment this year,” Mr Sowerby said.

Eliot Hastie

Eliot Hastie is a journalist at Momentum Media, writing primarily for its wealth and financial services platforms. 

Eliot joined the team in 2018 having previously written on Real Estate Business with Momentum Media as well.

Eliot graduated from the University of Westminster, UK with a Bachelor of Arts (Journalism).

You can email him on: [email protected]