How Advisors Can Keep Up With Shifting Investor Trends

On the MFS Straight Talk podcast, Senior Managing Director Jenine Garrelick, CIMA, and Senior Business Development Strategist Sheridan Culhane discussed this very topic. To help do so, Ashley Wood, Managing Principal at Broadridge, joined the pair. Wood brought data from Broadridge to help illuminate the latest trends.

One of the key trends discussed at length in the podcast was the gap between older and younger investors. This came up because Broadridge data showed investor preferences regarding advisor relationships. In particular, the Broadridge survey asked investors what was the driver of satisfaction with their advisor relationship.

Wood noted that, for many older generations, the top result was performance, followed by good communication. Interestingly, the Broadridge survey found that younger generations — such as Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z — are most satisfied with advisors who are knowledgeable and provide sound advice.

Garrelick and Culhane discussed at length how this shifting trend creates an interesting environment for advisors. Advisors need to be strong communicators who can provide advice on a variety of financial topics when needed.

As the years pass and the transfer of wealth from older to younger generations continues, this shift from performance to knowledge and advice may become increasingly apparent. One method the hosts cited as a potential way to reach younger investors is by leveraging the younger generation of existing clients.

“Include them in family meetings that you do, include them in estate planning conversations, CC them on marketing initiatives, invite them to events,” Culhane added. “As advisors do this with that next generation, they’re showing those kids how they help their parents work towards and accomplish their goals, but in doing so, they’re also just proving how and why they’re such an amazing advisor in general.”

The generational shift isn’t the only trend advisors should be keeping an eye on, either. Wood also cited Broadridge data showing that 50% of advisors plan to continue increasing their allocations to actively managed ETFs. This should not come as a particular shock, given how the macroeconomic uncertainties 2025 has brought have caused many to seek actively managed funds for their flexibility and ease of use.

“No matter how you slice that chart, whether it’s by channel, by asset level, active ETFs far and away come out number one in terms of product conviction on every slice of demographics you can think about there,” said Wood. “So it’s a pure high-conviction space.”

For those looking to increase their exposure to actively managed exchange-traded funds, MFS offers several solutions. This includes the recently launched MFS Blended Research Core Equity ETF (BRCE).

True to its name, BRCE uses a blend of complementary fundamental and quantitative signals  to build its portfolio. The fund applies a bottom-up selection process, focusing on high-quality securities being offered at attractive valuations.

BRCE isn’t the only fund from MFS that applies a blended approach to navigating the equity market. The MFS Blended Research International Equity ETF (BRIE) takes this strategy, but applies it towards international equity exposure.

An active bottom-up investment approach, combined with the blended investment philosophy, could prove especially advantageous for navigating the complex world of international equities. This includes exposure to companies based in emerging markets, which accounts for nearly 30% of the fund’s net assets, as of October 31st, 2025.

This active, blended approach could put portfolios in a favorable position in 2026 and beyond. In a stock picker’s market, sticking with an active approach with a disciplined investment strategy can prove fortuitous in the long term.

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