But more advisors think they will be able to help clients meet their goals. Independent investment advisors seem to be less optimistic about the U.S. economy than they were at the beginning of the year, according to a report out of RIA custodian Schwab Institutional.

The semi-annual Independent Advisor Outlook Study, based on a survey of 1,110 advisors who collectively manage $235 billion in assets, finds that a third of those polled don't think the S&P index will rise in the next six months, as compared to 22% who shared those sentiments in January.

Softer

The survey was conducted in July 2007.

In addition, 80% if advisors see a softening in the housing market in the next six months (as compared to 71% in January), 57% did not see energy prices going down (as compared to 40% in January), and 53% foresee increased inflation in the next six months (as compared to 45%).

Oddly though, 29% of the advisors polled say it will be easy to achieve their clients' goals as against 21% who said as much in January.

"Independent advisors tend to take a long-term view, which may explain why their confidence is on the rise during this time of market uncertainty," says Charles Goldman, executive v.p. of Schwab Institutional.

Advisors are looking at the energy sector with particular enthusiasm: 44% of them name it as the sector likely to perform best in the next half year (it came in fifth in January). Information technology and healthcare come in second and third.

In terms of investment vehicles, 78% of the advisors surveyed named ETFs as their weapon of choice: 32% of them say they plan to allocate more money to ETFs in the next six months. Only 7% of advisors said that they would put more money in private equity in the next six months; 65% of advisors said that they weren't planning to go near it for the balance of the year.

Schwab Institutional also uses its Independent Advisor Outlook Study to delve into the concerns of clients. The newest edition of the study suggests that the main thing weighing on the clients of the advisors polled is their welfare in retirement.

Per force

Although 39% of the clients describe themselves as retired, they had not stopped working entirely, and 59% said they were pursuing post-retirement careers.

And not all of them are still working because they want to. Some -- 51% -- are still at it because they feel they need the money to maintain their lifestyles; 48% work to fund their leisure activities, and 39% are still working "to cover unanticipated expenses."

"Almost no one is immune to retirement unrest, but our study shows that over the past six months, on average only 12% of advisors' clients needed reassurance that they were on track to meeting their financial goals," says Goldman. "Clearly, the personal approach and long-term view that independent advisors take instills a measure of confidence and trust with their clients so that they can sleep well at night."

Another concern is a legacy of financial responsibility. Over 69% of advisors mentioned that clients were strongly interested in educating their heirs about investing, while 67% said they were interested in charitable donations. Over 60% of advisors long-term care expenses, estate taxes, education costs for children/grandchildren, and care for aging parents as top client concerns.

"The affluent are working with independent advisors not only to help them achieve personal monetary milestones, but also to ensure that their financial resources can be a means for addressing their more important concerns - family, community, health, education and social responsibility," says Goldman.

Schwab Institutional, a division of San Francisco-based Schwab, provides custodial, operational and trading support to about 5,000 independent investment advisories. -FWR

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