Mutual funds remain the investment of choice for Canadian advisors who hold their Certified Financial Planner designation, but there is also “substantial interest” in alternative products, a new survey indicates.

Of the 529 CFP professionals surveyed, 89% said they use mutual funds (outside of wrap programs). These advisors hold an average of 54% of client assets in mutual funds, substantially greater than the average allocations to other types of investments. In addition, 44% of current users said they planned to increase their usage of mutual funds, while a further 31% plan to maintain their current usage level.

The survey was conducted by Vancouver-based Credo Consulting Inc., in conjunction with Financial Planners Standards Council. The survey findings, as well as findings from follow-up interviews, and Credo’s recommendations for how to market to planning-oriented advisors are offered in a new study entitled “The Support, Tools and Services Financial Planners Value Most – Understanding the CFP Professional.”

The survey suggests there is still lots of life left in mutual funds, despite recent predictions to the contrary.

“Even though alternative products have been at the forefront of the marketing parade for the past number of years, we were interested to note that financial planners are by no means abandoning mutual funds,” Cynthia Enns, the study author and partner at Credo Consulting, said in a release. “With the market turnaround, clients have a renewed interest in the equity markets and mutual funds are comfortable for both investors and advisors,”

The survey noted that there was also “widespread and substantial interest in products such as separately managed accounts and hedge funds.”

“For planning-oriented advisors, it’s less about the specific investment choice and more about helping a client achieve their goals,” Enns said. “However, both traditional investment products like mutual funds as well as more alternative product choices play a role in this process. It’s still an advisor-driven process with clients trusting their advisors to make the appropriate investment product recommendations based on the larger financial planning picture. ”

“The Support, Tools and Services Financial Planners Value Most – Understanding the CFP Professional,” represents a comprehensive analysis of what planning-oriented advisors really want from asset managers and distributors today. In addition to investment usage trends, the study also examines the biggest challenges planning-oriented advisors are facing today, and the types of asset manager capabilities, wholesaler support and other services that CFP professionals value the most.