CHICAGO, Aug. 21, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced today the results of a new benchmark study on financial advisors' use of options conducted by Bellomy Research and commissioned by OIC. This is the second quantitative study that OIC has commissioned on advisors' use of options following the inaugural study in 2011. The 2014 Benchmark Study found three out of five advisors have used options in the past 12 months, a 13 percent increase since the 2011 study. Advisors who were surveyed in the study anticipated their options use to grow 43 percent in the coming year. The new study also found that advisors are using options with more of their clients in 2014, and that options users are twice as likely to have larger, more successful businesses.
The 2014 Benchmark Study was conducted in March 2014 and surveyed more than 600 advisors across various distribution channels on how, when and why they used options. The findings show that more advisors started using options in nearly every distribution channel from 2011 to 2014. Income generation and risk management were cited as the two biggest reasons for using options in the past year and advisors most frequently indicated that they managed options strategies on their own. The covered call was the strategy that advisors reported to use the most in their clients' portfolios. The study also found that advisors are more likely to discuss options strategies with their clients compared to the previous study. Clients were also more likely to bring up options strategies with their advisor.
OIC will use the results of this study to show advisors how options can help them better serve their clients and their business. While advisors in the study said that their knowledge and confidence in using options has increased over the past few years, they also expressed an interest in learning more about options. Today, OIC provides a variety of educational resources for advisors through its website, OptionsEducation.org, as well as content sharing, in-person office visits and educational events throughout the year. This fall, OIC will partner with a large regional firm to host the first hybrid event with retail clients and advisors. OIC will continue to build and expand its educational outreach to help advisors learn more about options and the value options can bring to their practice.
View more findings, and download the full study and brochure on OIC's website at: http://www.OptionsEducation.org/newsroom/research.html.
About OIC
The Options Industry Council (OIC) is an industry cooperative funded by the U.S. options exchanges and OCC. OIC's mission is to provide free and unbiased education to investors and financial advisors about the benefits and risks of exchange-traded equity options. OIC delivers its education through the Options Education Program, a structured platform offering live seminars, self-directed online courses, mobile tools, podcasts, webinars and live help. OIC's resources can be accessed online at OptionsEducation.org, via mobile app for iOS, or by phone at 1-888-OPTIONS.
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