• Geopolitics, Volatility, Inflation are Top Concerns for Advisors, Clients
• Volatility Brings Challenges, Engagement and Opportunity
• Advisors Keep Clients Invested, Confident, with Downside Protection Strategies

According to the Spring 2026 InspereX Pulse Survey of 783 financial advisors released today, the majority of advisors (70%) said they expect the S&P 500 to be up 5% or more by year-end 2026 compared to where it traded between March 27-April 7, 2026 (a low of 6,316.91 and a high of 6,618.26). More specifically:

• 31% expect the S&P 500 to be up 5% or more
• 30% expect the S&P 500 to be up 10% or more
• 8% expect the S&P 500 to be up 15% or more
• 21% expect the S&P 500 to be down 5% or more
• 9% expect the S&P 500 to be unchanged

“Despite challenging market conditions in the first quarter, the majority of advisors see the potential for meaningful upside in the remainder of the year,” said Chris Mee, Managing Director at InspereX. “Market volatility once fueled anxiety between advisors and their clients. Today’s expanded toolkit that includes downside protection strategies, helps advisors position portfolios to better endure uncertainty – keeping clients more confident and calmer. It’s clear from the results that advisors continue to believe they demonstrate their value and differentiate their service during volatile markets.”

Advisors Say Clients Aligned on Top Concerns

When asked to identify the macro headwinds they’re most worried about, advisors said:

1. Geopolitics (43%)
2. Market volatility (17%)
3. Inflation (16%)

Notably, inflation overtook recession fears as a top three advisor concern, a reversal from the fall 2025 Pulse Survey.

Advisors said inflation is still a top concern for clients as well. According to advisors, their clients are most concerned about:

1. Geopolitics (45%)
2. Market volatility (35%)
3. Inflation (9%)

While geopolitics were cited as a top concern, geopolitical tensions/global security were also identified as the top (31%) major market theme advisors said will create the greatest investment opportunities through year-end. Artificial intelligence and technology innovation (28%) and increased market volatility and risk management (18%) rounded out the top three.

Volatility Still Good for Business

While advisors and their clients both view volatility as a top concern in 2026, it’s also having a positive impact on their businesses:

• 78% said volatility increases client engagement and communication needs
• 78% said volatility generates opportunities to demonstrate value
• 35% said volatility generates more referrals and new business opportunities
• 33% said it drives higher trading/rebalancing activity
• 31% said it allows them to grow assets and revenues

Conversely, 39% of advisors said volatility leads to an increase in workload and stress and 23% said it creates challenges with client retention or satisfaction. Just 8% of advisors said volatility has little or no impact on their practice.

Fifty percent of advisors agreed that during periods of market volatility their practice is operating more on the offense versus defense, while 39% were neutral and 11% disagreed.

The following tactics were identified as the most effective during volatile market conditions:

• Reassurance about existing long-term planning (32%)
• Increase proactive outreach cadence (31%)
• Add/expand protection strategies (18%)
• Increase tactical rebalancing (12%)
• Lean into education (6%)

In volatile markets, advisors say their clients most likely want to:

• Avoid changes while seeking reassurance (42%)
• Reallocate existing assets into protected strategies (28%)
• Move assets to cash or sidelines (12%)
• Do nothing (9%)
• Add to portfolios with defined outcomes (9%)

Risk-On Reassurance

To help quell client concerns, the majority of advisors (54%) said they will “moderately” or “significantly” increase their use of downside protection strategies within portfolios.

Advisors say they are using protection strategies to:

• Provide peace of mind to clients (71%)
• Reduce or eliminate client risk exposure (67%)
• Deliver growth with protection for clients (64%)
• Improve the client’s investment experience (52%)
• Target defined outcomes in client portfolios (41%)

When introducing downside protection or defined outcome strategies to clients during volatile markets, advisors say the most common result is:

• Assets that would have gone to cash remain invested (39%)
• Improved client confidence but limited asset movement (37%)
• New assets invested (16%)
• Primarily defensive positioning with no asset growth (8%)

“The fact that so few advisors said clients want to move money to the sidelines during these periods is a testament to the work they do to keep clients focused on the long term. Advisors believe that this use of protection strategies is providing their clients with better peace of mind and a better investment experience.

“By embracing downside protection strategies, advisors have increased their perceived value, and they’ve helped their clients to confidently remain invested in the market so they can participate in upside potential, while insulating portfolios from broad market drawdowns and the emotional reactions they tend to generate,” Mr. Mee added.

About the Survey – View Survey Report

InspereX is the tech-driven distributor of fixed income, structured products, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and alternative investments. The InspereX Pulse Survey was conducted between March 27- April 7, 2026, by Red Zone Marketing on behalf of InspereX. The 783 financial advisor respondents work at independent broker/dealers, RIAs, banks and regional firms. During the survey period, the S&P 500 high was 6,618.26, the low was 6,316.91.

About InspereX

InspereX pioneered the delivery of innovative strategies to the retail market and has since become an industry leader in underwriting, marketing, and distributing structured products, ETFs, alternative investments, and new‑issue and secondary fixed income securities. We provide issuers with differentiated distribution capabilities while supporting investors and advisors with unique solutions, all delivered through personalized service enhanced by technology that integrates market intelligence and streamlines workflows. InspereX represents more than 500 issuing entities, distributes to more than 1,500 partners, and has distributed more than $850 billion in new issue securities. The firm has six trading desks and more than 190 employees with offices in Delray Beach, FL; Chicago, IL; New York, NY; and Little Rock, AR.

© 2026 InspereX®. All rights reserved. Securities offered through InspereX LLC a member of FINRA/SIPC.

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