Survey Say

Most Financial Advisors Think Bailout Will Work; See Hike in S&P 500
Half Will ‘Boldly’ Seek New Clients
Two-in-three financial advisors believe the government’s eco nomic rescue plan will work and expect the S&P 500 to rise between 10% and 25% in the next 12 months. Nearly half (48%) will “boldly” seek new clients and 43% will pursue new clients “as the opportunity arises.” Only 9% expect a struggle to keep clients.

Six-of-ten advisors have discussed the current market drop with at least three-fourths of their clients. Nearly 50% say at least half of their clients asked specific questions about portfolio insurance. About three-fourths have made adjustments to 15% or less of their clients’ investments; 11% to half or more of the portfolios. Opinions vary on where the S&P 500 will be in 12 months.
• 23% think it will be up about 25%.
• 45% say 10%.
• 18% see no change.
• 11% think the S&P 500 will be down by 10%.
• 3% say it will be 25% lower.
The average respondent has been a financial advisor for more than 12 years.
• Horsesmouth, LLC

Insurance Professionals: Me Too, But Not As Much
Majority Will ‘Stay the Course’ On Retirement Planning
Half of the insurance professionals believe the government rescue plan will stabilize the markets; 48% think it won’t. But 77% will “stay the course” with their established long-term plans, rather than reduce market exposure or make any other significant near-term adjustments. At the same time, virtually all (99%) believe that most retirement-minded Americans will move money into “safer” investments, become more risk adverse, avoid equity based financial products and even “stash their savings under mattresses.” Sixty-five percent believe that investor confidence is either flat or falling. Sixty-eight percent believe variable annuity “living benefits,” which provide specific guarantees against downside market risk, will become more popular with consumers.
• Association for Insured Retirement Solutions

Why 77 Million Don’t Have Life Insurance
One in three Americans is without life insurance. Forty-seven percent say the uncertain economy is restricting their capacity to buy it; 43% think it’s too expensive. One in four (24%) think they don’t need it and 14% think shopping for life insurance is too complicated and too much of a hassle. For Americans who have coverage, many are overly optimistic about the length of time a life insurance benefit check would last. Nearly half believe a $250,000 lump sum payout would last 10 years or more and 54% think it would be good for at least four years.
• Heritage Union

Employee Benefits Expensive
Employers are spending an average of 42.7% of their payrolls on employee benefits, both mandatory and voluntary. The average dollar cost per employee is $21,527 — in addition to wages, but that’s weighted down by the low amount ($7,745) paid by hotels, restaurants, recreation and entertainment. Public utilities pay $41,497 per employee in benefits; health care and social assistance agencies, $32, 783 and data processing, information services and publishing, $31,981. The cost of voluntary benefits has been rising at greater rate than mandatory.
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Why Doctors Don’t Go Digital
Despite all the clamor for electronic medical records, only 13% of the nation’s physicians have adopted the technology. Primary reason is cost. The servers, computers and software can run as high as $36,000. But there’s more. Doctors who have the technology receive only 11% of the savings. The rest goes to insurance companies and the government. Furthermore, today’s electronic record systems are problem-riddled. Because just simple “yes” and “no” questions are entered into the software, the resulting computer-generated notes are virtually clinically useless.
• New England Journal of Medici

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