In the news release, Soaring Stock Market Fueled Customer
Satisfaction with Financial Advisors, ACSI Finds, issued
Feb. 13, 2018 by American Customer
Satisfaction Index over PR Newswire, the report link in paragraph
seven has been updated. The complete, corrected release
follows:
Soaring Stock Market Fueled Customer Satisfaction with Financial
Advisors, ACSI Finds
ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Customer
satisfaction with financial advisors stands at 81 on a 0 to 100
scale, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index
(ACSI®) Financial Advisors Report 2017.
That score, the first to break out financial advisors from the
larger finance and insurance sector, is in the top 10 of all
industries measured by the ACSI, and likely reflects the stock
market's record highs in 2017 and strong growth since 2009.
Among the measured companies, LPL Financial and Charles Schwab lead at 82, while Fidelity,
Merrill Lynch, and UBS (along with independent fee-based registered
investment advisors) all have the lowest score of 79. The range of
scores is narrower than in most ACSI-measured industries, a sign of
both the industry's competitiveness and how quickly incremental
improvements could create a competitive advantage.
"With the S&P 500 up 19 percent and the Dow up 25 percent in
2017, it's not surprising that clients would be pretty happy with
their financial advisor," said David
VanAmburg, Managing Director at ACSI. "The true test will
come when the stock market declines and financial advisors may have
difficulty justifying their fees and holding on to clients. The
recent market plunges should come as a warning sign for any
financial advisor that isn't fighting to improve their customer
experience."
While financial advisors' overall ACSI score is among the
highest, the industry also has the fourth highest complaint rate of
any industry measured by ACSI. This indicates more negative
feedback from customers experiencing problems than in most
industries.
Other aspects of customer experience also present opportunities
for improvement. The industry scored high marks for ease of opening
an account (84), call centers and websites (83), and the trust and
confidence customers have in their advisors (83). Routine contact
with investors (81) is good, as is personal contact (79). Financial
advisors have greatest room for improvement in mobile options for
account management, which ranked lowest among all benchmarks
measured (78).
"Right now, regulatory issues are likely to blame for the lower
score in mobile options, but as customers increasingly use mobile
devices for all kinds of transactions, this is one way financial
advisors can differentiate themselves moving forward," said
VanAmburg.
The ACSI Financial Advisors Report 2017, based on 1,473 customer
surveys collected in the fourth quarter of 2017, is available for
free download here.
Follow the ACSI on LinkedIn and Twitter at @theACSI.
No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the
data and information in this release without the express prior
written consent of ACSI LLC.
About ACSI
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI®) has been a
national economic indicator for almost 25 years. It measures and
analyzes customer satisfaction with more than 300 companies in 44
industries and 10 economic sectors, including various services of
federal and local government agencies. Reported on a scale of 0 to
100, ACSI scores are based on data from interviews with roughly
180,000 customers annually. For more information, visit
www.theacsi.org.
ACSI and its logo are Registered Marks of the University of Michigan, licensed worldwide
exclusively to American Customer Satisfaction Index LLC with the
right to sublicense.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Denise DiMeglio, 610-228-2102
denise@gregoryfca.com
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SOURCE American Customer Satisfaction Index