Millionaires More Bearish Than Their Advisors

Posted: 26 Apr 2012 01:15 PM PDT

: Getty Images

It's a lot easier to be bullish with other people's money than your own.

Still, a recent study shows a surprisingly wide "optimism gap" between millionaires and their financial advisers. According to the study from Charles Schwab, 45% of financial advisers are bullish about the market over the next six months. Only 29% of millionaires (those with $1 million or more in investible assets) are bullish.

Fully 19% of millionaires are bearish – more than the 13% for advisers.

Millionaires are far more likely to believe that inflation will increase over the next six months. They also are more likely to believe that unemployment will increase, the deficit will increase and that the U.S. will experience a double-dip recession.

About 70% of the millionaires said their primary investment strategy was "capital preservation" and that their chief investment goal is generating enough retirement income to last the rest of their lives.

Advisers have a different view of their client goals: They say 50% of their clients seek capital preservation and the other half seek appreciation. The advisers say 64% of clients are looking for retirement income.

What this all means is that wealth advisers aren't as worried about the economy or political environment as their clients. And they don't realize just how conservative their clients want to be.

Why do you think there's an “optimism” gap between advisers and their clients? Is it just about selling them more products or something larger?