Three in four advisers (76%) believe client requests drive their investment decisions, according to research from Downing Fund Managers.
The second most cited driver of making new investments was changes in market conditions, cited by 65% of advisers taking part, and the third was economic changes (63%).
Just over half of the advisers questioned (52%) said they switch investments because of performance problems with existing recommendations, while 48% said they are influenced by the need for higher returns. Around two in five (39%) said they change to new investments due to regulatory updates.
Administrative problems are a reason to switch for around a quarter of advisers (24%), while innovative features in a new investment prompts changes for just over a fifth (22%).
The researchers also quizzed advisers on the people that influence them. Of those taking part, 61% said industry experts have an impact on them ahead of 54% who said client demands are a reason, followed by 37% who said recommendations from other advisers influence them.
Fund managers were cited as a big influence by 35% of advisers, while a fifth (20%) said financial influencers have an impact on their decision-making.
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Another area the survey gathered insight on was communicating fund updates. The researchers found 91% of advisers want email updates while 70% like webinars and online presentations.
Of those questioned, 35% cited updates at industry conferences as a source and 33% pointed to professional publications. Only 11% said they like to receive updates through LinkedIn.
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Simon Evan-Cook, manager of the Downing Fox Funds, said: “This is some intriguing data to dig into. It’s unlikely that advisers are recommending a product simply because one client has mentioned it, but it would be interesting to know if several clients asking about a product sparks advisers to investigate more deeply.
“The data shows advisers are less influenced by conditions in the market or the economy, which suggests a healthy and welcome focus on financial planning and long-term investing.”
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