More than one-half (54 percent) of Boomers and 58 percent of advisors cited 10 percent or less as their comfort zone for volatility, and one-fourth of Boomers were only at ease with 5 percent or less. Underscoring uneasiness about retirement security, only 32 percent of Boomers expressed confidence in their investments, a finding highlighted by the fact that almost one-half (45 percent) said that they check their account balances at least once a week.

The link between volatility and client wariness is a strong one in the eyes of advisors — 88 percent said that seeing volatility in their retirement accounts raised clients' concerns about retirement and financial security, while 56 percent of Boomers say the same.

Still, Boomers are taking a more balanced stance now as they invest for retirement than was the case in the aftermath of the financial crisis two years ago. At that time, three-fourths of this group expressed a preference for protecting against losses versus participating in market gains, according to a MetLife survey in 2009. Now, there is roughly a 50-50 split in preferences between protecting and participating in gains.

"With the market recovery, Boomers are starting to become more confident about investing in equities, but volatility continues to be top of mind and a significant concern. Our survey shows there is rising interest in exploring newer investment approaches that offer the potential to provide steadier, more consistent returns over the long term," said Robert E. Sollmann, Jr., executive vice president, Retirement Products at MetLife.

"In the past, these forward-looking approaches were mainly available only to large institutional investors such as endowments, but leading professional money managers are now offering more alternative products to all investors," he added.

Strong Interest Among Advisors

The MetLife poll disclosed a strong desire among financial advisors to seek other options beyond traditional asset allocation models in confronting market risk and volatility. Half of advisors (51 percent) agreed that alternative investments are needed to better manage volatility – the same percentage disagreed that "a mix of stocks, bonds and cash" is enough to manage volatility in their clients' retirement portfolios. Moreover, 57 percent of advisors were interested in a "product that could provide more consistent returns."

Not surprisingly, Boomers lagged behind advisors in awareness of alternatives, with almost two-thirds (64 percent) saying they were unsure about whether "retirement portfolios need to be managed differently in today's economy."

However, there was corresponding uncertainty about traditional investment strategies as well — 58 percent were unsure whether "retirement portfolios should be set and left for the long term. "

At the same time many Boomers (42 percent) unfamiliar with alternative investments wanted to learn more.

Younger boomers and sophisticated investors were most open to getting information about alternative investments: 61 percent of those ages 45 to 54 and 45 percent of those ages 55 to 64 who were unfamiliar with alternatives wanted to learn more, compared with just 23 percent of those over the age of 65. Those Boomers who described themselves as sophisticated investors expressed considerable interest in alternative products – 58 percent would like to be educated, the MetLife survey found.

"When we consider that most Boomers lack confidence in their investments, pronounced aversion to market volatility is understandable," noted Julia Lennox, vice president, Retirement Products. "Many of those Boomers surveyed clearly were open to learning more about new approaches to manage volatility, as well as to grow assets, and many advisors appear ready to help clients with solutions that can make the road to retirement a smoother one."