A study shows too many advisors may be overly focused on short-term market movements when managing retirement assets.

According to the latest Fidelity Advisor Investment Pulse study from Fidelity Institutional Asset Management, the combination of market volatility, regulatory reforms and political and macroeconomic shifts made advisors nervous during the first half of the year, which in turn made them focus on portfolio management to help clients through the uncertainty.

Through the first half of the year, the study found, portfolio management was the top theme, with more than 26 percent of advisors surveyed citing it as an area of focus. Market volatility followed, with nearly 26 percent of advisors focusing on that, with developments in the regulatory and political landscape coming in at third place, claiming the attention of 18 percent of respondents.

Looking at just the second quarter of 2016, the results were similar, with 27 percent of respondents focused on portfolio management, 23 percent concerned about market volatility and 21 percent watching regulatory and political developments.

However, moving toward a “multiple time horizon” angle could help advisors in identifying the ideal mix of risk and return for their clients.

Fidelity pointed out that over a 1-to-12-month period — a “tactical lens” — geopolitics, investor sentiment and flows are factors that can lead the market to deviate from longer-term trends. Although this can lead to investment opportunities and provide entry and exit points, such a short time horizon isn’t advisable for evaluating portfolios.

A 1-to-10-year term, or “business cycle” time horizon is more connected to factors such as corporate earnings, credit growth and inventories that are more tied to the state of the economy. This longer cycle provides an opportunity to educate clients about the importance of diversification, since asset performance may be less reliable in what is currently a mix of mid- and late-cycle dynamics in the U.S. economy.

Finally there is what Fidelity terms a “secular lens” — viewing portfolios with regard to a 10-to-30-year timeframe during which demographic shifts, productivity changes, and other macroeconomic trends may influence asset performance.

Instant Insights /

Advisors too focused on portfolio managment, market volatility

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