How Many Clients Switched Advisors Since 2020?

The global Covid-19 pandemic triggered new challenges for the wealth management industry. Already adjusting in response to robo-advisors and investing apps, advisors were forced to pivot even further just to maintain their books of business, let alone grow them.

As advisors search for ways to deliver more value—and differentiate themselves in the process—their clients’ need for meaningful, compelling, and actionable communication has never been greater.

In our new survey How Can Advisors Better Communicate with Clients? we polled 670 individuals who currently work with a financial advisor to learn what has changed about those relationships since Covid-19, and outline actionable steps advisors can take to improve communication.

The Covid-19 Pandemic Led Many Clients to Seek a New Advisor

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, many individuals working with financial advisors have been reconsidering where their money is managed. A quarter of surveyed clients considered switching to a new advisor, with an additional 21.8% actually making the jump to a new advisor or a robo-advisor.

A little over half of surveyed clients (52.9%) did not switch, nor did they consider switching. Importantly, 28.7% of respondents reporting greater than $500,000 under an advisor’s management switched advisors since the onset of COVID-19, compared to just 14% for clients with less than $500,000 invested.

Given the market’s volatility and drawdowns since late 2021, plus ongoing communication challenges throughout the pandemic, it’s not difficult to approximate why clients have turned over in such large numbers.

Another consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic has been a shift in the way advisors meet and communicate with their clients. Per the survey responses, 51.7% of clients meet with their advisor both virtually and in person, up considerably from 38.2% pre-pandemic. Meanwhile, the number of clients meeting with their advisor exclusively in person has fallen from 49.3% to 28%.

While virtual meetings seem like a viable path to scaling the number of meetings an advisor can handle, perhaps the reduction in face-to-face contact has contributed to client feelings of reduced communication frequencies.

This article was originally published on YCharts.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.