The report suggests that investors, buffeted by a number of geopolitical and economic shocks in recent years, are more composed and willing to stay in the market than may have been the case in the past.

So far, investors aren’t pulling money from accounts in volatile market conditions, but falls in markets and worries over inflation are increasing the need for people to seek advice, according to a report from Cerulli Associates. 

Two months before the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, Boston-based Cerulli found the share of investors expecting to cut investments held stable at 6 per cent per month and maxing out at 10 per cent in April 2020. 

By contrast, the share of investors expecting to make net increases in their investments averaged 40 per cent over the same period, rising to a post-pandemic high of 47 per cent in November 2021, coinciding with the start of the falls to equities that ran on through 2022.

Over the last decade, which featured three notable upticks in volatility, as measured by the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), each advisor cohort outside advisor-directed – those who give the greatest discretion over financial assets to advisors – has seen an uptick in net advice demand in the year following a volatility spike. 

In 2021, however, for the first time self-directed individuals reported the need for additional advice, Cerulli said in a report.

“Establishing long-term plans remains crucial for both advisors and clients, but in the short and medium term, tools such as tax-loss harvesting and risk re-adjustment could be critical to help ensure clients can enter the next market upswing in as strong a position as possible,” research analyst, John McKenna, said. 

“For advisors, this can be an excellent opportunity to get in front of possible new clients by distributing timely information and knowledge about both the markets and the current situation to properly contextualize events,”  McKenna said. “It also presents an opportunity to approach clients already in a formal relationship about long-term planning to ensure they will be in an advantageous position in the long run.”