The latest industry research has confirmed while clients are generally pleased with their adviser's trustworthiness and knowledge, their satisfaction level significantly diminishes when their investments perform poorly.
The Lifeplan Financial Planning Satisfaction Index (FPSI) October 2010 fell by 2.6 per cent compared to when the study was last conducted in April of this year.
In reference to the three key satisfaction drivers, trust and reliability of the adviser, technical ability of the adviser, and investment performance, they changed by 5 per cent, -2.8 per cent and -13.8 per cent respectively.
In comparison, these drivers moved by -4.3 per cent, 0 per cent and 6.4 per cent respectively in April 2010.
According to Lifeplan, the results indicate equity market movements significantly shape people's perceptions of their advisers.
"The findings suggest that some investors believe their advisers should be able to predict market movements and investment performance and, when things go badly, they blame their adviser," head of Lifeplan Matt Walsh said.
"This kind of investor behaviour is unfortunately quite common, where people look for someone else to blame rather than accepting that they have made a mistake, or that they can't control investment outcomes or market performance.
"However, it is clearly a concern for advisers, who need to ensure they are managing their clients' expectations of how markets perform, and how far their own advice can go."
Walsh predicted this might cause problems for advisers over the short term.
On a positive note, those clients who are already using an adviser still value the relationship and retain a high level of trust with their planner.
Clients over the age of 60 and those whose association with their adviser has spanned more than five years were the most satisfied.
The survey was conducted on behalf of Lifeplan by the University of Adelaide's International Centre for Financial Services in September of this year, with 418 investors taking part.
