The vast majority of financial advisers (92%) expect their clients to seek changes to their investment strategies if global volatility persists this year.
This is according to research from Wesleyan, which puts fresh “focus on strategies that will help keep clients on track for good outcomes, even amid market choppiness”.
Four-fifths (80%) of advisers said their clients had already changed their investment strategy since the US announced tariffs on 2 April.
Since US president Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ announcement, 37% of advisers have proactively reached out to a specific client segment to discuss the ensuing market volatility, while nearly three in five (57%) have contacted their entire client base.
In the beginning of April, Trump unveiled his ‘Liberation Day’ plans that saw a 10% universal baseline tariff on nearly all goods imported into the US, starting April 5.
Due to members of the public getting “yippy”, in Trump’s words, he then announced that country-specific “reciprocal” tariffs would be paused for 90 days, just hours after they went into effect.
This pause ended on July 8, with Trump now threatening tariffs on Canada and the EU. However, as Trump has previously U-turned on his tariff plans, it has given rise to the term TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out).
Regardless Wesleyan investment specialist James Tothill said: “Recent extreme market volatility will have understandably made some clients nervous – and many are clearly still worried about what might be yet to come.
“As all advisers know, while some clients will benefit changing their strategy, others might be better sticking with their plans. Of course, at the peak of a crisis, it’s often tempting for clients to think ‘this time it’s different’ – something often said to be the four most dangerous words in investing.
“With the benefit of hindsight, making no changes to portfolios is often the best thing to do, but of course this itself can be a tough decision at such an emotional time.
“Of course, great financial planning about delivering peace of mind alongside good outcomes. In this environment, advisers might find themselves spending more and more time helping clients avoid making emotionally-led decisions to ensure plans keep delivering good outcomes.
“This could involve looking at ways to address volatility, rather than knee-jerk changes in the underlying assets themselves.
Tothill added that smoothed funds could be well adapted to this situation, as they “enable clients to invest in a range of asset classes, including property, but use an actuarial mechanism to ‘smooth’ the investing journey – helping address some of the spikes that could cause worry”.
In order to obtain these results, Wesleyan commissioned Censuswide to survey 300 advisers between the 7 and 14 May 2025.
