Financial Advisor Confidence Outlook

The Financial Advisor Confidence Outlook (FACO) is a monthly index published on Financial Planning that surveys hundreds of financial advisors to understand their forward-looking perspective on the economy and plans for client asset allocations. This index provides a snapshot of the economic landscape and provides a peer view into client advising choices for the coming month.

In this index, advisors are asked to share their outlook on six core economic indicators: the overall economy, the global economic system, government policy, their asset allocation, their client's risk tolerance, and their practice performance. From these responses, a score is developed to take into account the balance of positive and negative outlooks. These scores are then averaged to create the overall outlook score: a value from -100 to 100 with -100 being the most pessimistic outlook possible, 0 being a neutral outlook, and 100 being the most optimistic outlook possible.

The FACO (June, 2023 – present) is a reimagined version of the Retirement Advisor Confidence Index (June, 2011 – May, 2023).

Retirement confidence soars amid economic reopening

Advisors report clients feel optimistic as vaccine rollout helps stoke economic revival.

As businesses reopen, clients feel more confident about retirement

Employers are ramping up hiring as vaccines roll out, fueling a huge year-over-year spike in retirement confidence.

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Retirement confidence off slightly, still soaring past 2020 levels

Clients are happy to have the political season behind them and are optimistic about COVID vaccines — but risk tolerance is a sore spot.

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Retirement confidence hits 2-year high in 2020

The rollout of coronavirus vaccines coupled with a new political environment has given some long-term savers renewed optimism.

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Post-election retirement confidence soars

"I think there's been a more risk-on approach now with markets rebounding, us getting clarity on politics, and positive COVID vaccine news," an advisor says.

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Retirement confidence flags amid election, COVID jitters

A year of upheavals has taken its toll on clients' appetite for risk, with some advisors hunkering down and avoiding dramatic moves until a coronavirus vaccine is widely available.

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Clients ‘getting more conservative’ amid COVID-19, election concerns

Risk tolerance and confidence in equities are down, even as metrics tracking retirement-plan participation have increased, the latest RACI survey finds.

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Clients feel bullish despite ongoing pandemic and election season

"Most people don't think we're out of the woods yet, but it's improving,” one advisor said.

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Retirement savers ‘cautiously optimistic’ about COVID-19. Now there's an election

Concerns about virus fallout and the upcoming presidential election have kept clients’ long-term investing exuberance in check, research shows.

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Client confidence, risk appetite roar back as markets recover from coronavirus

A dramatic resurgence in equity-based securities as part of the retirement mix has been especially striking, advisors and wealth managers say.

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Is retirement confidence returning?

Economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic continues to weigh on investors' minds, however some are starting to feel “more comfortable investing.”

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