A Work from Home Shift: ETF Trends and Direxion Release Findings of Financial Advisors Survey

Findings show virus has broken through cultural and technological barriers to fortify a structural shift in how advisors do business.

News provided by

Direxion

Dec 17, 2020, 08:45 ET

NEW YORK, Dec. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Direxion, a leading provider of leveraged and thematic ETFs, and ETF Trends, a leading source in exchange-traded fund industry coverage, today released the findings of the ETF Trends/Direxion 'Work from Home' Financial Advisor Survey.

Conducted in October 2020, the ETF Trends/Direxion Work From Home Advisor Survey explored multiple aspects of working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic and how the new work environment created during COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting financial advisors and the ETF industry. The survey also provided a better understanding of the long-term impacts of this secular shift on the advisor market.

Key findings included:

Despite the vast majority of advisors not working remotely prior to Covid-19, 83% of surveyed advisors said they would like to work at least 1 day a week from home permanently. 43% of advisors would like to work at least 3 days a week from home permanently.
64% of surveyed said their relationships with clients haven't changed due to working from home. 18% said their client relationships strengthened.
78% of surveyed said that they feel that their work from home productivity is Good or Excellent.
52% of surveyed continued to say they trusted ETF industry websites for their primary source for ETF research. 85% had attended a virtual event, with 45% saying they had increased their reliance on webcasts.

The U.S. economy underwent the most radical transformation since the great depression over the course of a few short weeks in March. Almost overnight, entire industries were transformed from in-office, in-person affairs to remote-only. To better understand the long-term impacts of this secular shift on the advisor market, the survey asked nearly 2,200 financial advisors questions regarding the shift in clients' portfolios, how it affected financial advisors, and the ETF industry, brought on by the pandemic. Survey respondents included Asset Gatherers, Portfolio Managers, and Firm Management, with 55% saying that their client portfolios are 1-40% ETFs, with another 35% reporting using ETFs for more than 40% of their client assets.

"With the majority of the industry working from home, these findings are vital to the reopening, management, and marketing strategies for firms moving into the new year," said ETF Trends CIO & Director of Research, Dave Nadig. "The pandemic has accelerated already existing trends in the advisor business and it shows, with 45% of advisors stating they've increased their usage of ETF issuer webcasts. Without any major changes on the horizon, we anticipate the ETF and advisor markets to continue their migration to digital distribution over the next year."

"The shift in the broad economy towards work-from-home early in the year was swift," recalls Rob Nestor, President at Direxion. "We saw the trend in our own business strongly enough to build new products to take advantage of that shift," he continued, referring to Direxion's Work From Home ETF (WFH) launch earlier in 2020. "We were curious to see how it was affecting the advisory business as well. The results from the survey clearly show that Advisors are being incredibly effective in this changed environment, and leaning in to the tools and resources that help them do their job without going to the office."

Complete findings from the survey are available here.

About ETF Trends

ETF Trends is a trusted source of ETF industry news, insight and analysis to keep investors a step ahead in today's investing world. Its editorial team and seasoned contributors stay on top of the latest trends in the U.S. and abroad to educate financial advisors and self-directed investors. From new ETF launches to articles on equities, fixed income, and alternatives, ETF Trends is a wide-ranging financial publication covering every aspect of the ETF universe and is the sister company to ETF Database, the world's largest independent, ETF-centric digital asset for modern financial advisors, financial professionals and sophisticated individuals. For more information, visit www.etftrends.com and www.etfdb.com . For press inquireies, please contact Dave Nadig, ETF Flows, [email protected]

About Direxion:

Direxion equips investors who are driven by conviction with ETF solutions built for purpose and fine-tuned for precision. These solutions are available for a broad spectrum of investors, whether executing short-term tactical trades, investing in macro themes, or building long-term asset allocation strategies. Direxion's reputation is founded on developing products that precisely express market perspectives and allow investors to manage their risk exposure. Founded in 1997, the company has approximately $16.7 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2020. For more information, please visit www.direxion.com.

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[1] BofA Global Research (2019): "Eureka! Future Tech Primer"

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