The 2018 Trends in Investing Survey
This year’s results of the 2018 Trends in Investing Survey conducted by the Journal of Financial Planning and the FPA Research and Practice InstituteTM have been released and in many ways, last year’s trends parallel this year’s findings. Specifically, the use of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) has climbed again for the eighth consecutive year, with 87% of surveyed advisors reporting that they currently use or recommend ETFs with Clients.
Additionally, there was a new investment vehicle added to this year’s survey – cryptocurrencies – which advisors largely agreed are “an interesting concept to keep en eye on, but not invest in yet,” at best.
In his role as Practitioner Editor for the Journal of Financial Planning, Dave assisted in the development and interpretation of the survey that was fielded online in April and May and polled over 250 financial planners. His insights on the use of ETFs and the general agreement on cryptocurrencies were shared in Financial Planning media following the release of the survey:
From Financial Planning Magazine
Regarding the rising use of ETFs over the past eight years:
A Mere 2% of Planners See Cryptocurrencies as a Viable Investment Option
“With only 200 active ETFs out a universe of nearly 5,000, the continued rise in advisers’ use of this investment vehicle is clearly congruent with the uptick in their adoption of a purely passive approach to investing,” says Dave Yeske, managing director of Yeske Buie and practitioner editor of the Journal of Financial Planning. “And while 65% of advisers continue to favor a blend of active and passive approaches, these results suggest that the ratio may be shifting in favor of passive.”
From ThinkAdvisor
Advisors Say Yes to EFTs, No to Crypto: FPA
The survey found that 53% of advisors were responding to client questions about cryptocurrencies, but only 1% were using or recommending these investments — a result Yeske called “gratifying.”
Read more about Dave’s take on Bitcoin in this piece, “What is Bitcoin actually worth?”