Advisors are more bullish than their investor clients on the outlook for investment markets in the new financial year, according to a survey by Australian financial planning agency Count Financial.

Eighty-one per cent of advisors polled believe that financial markets will improve in the year, compared with less than half of investors who believe the same. 

The survey also revealed that 68 per cent of investor clients said that minimising tax it is their biggest concern, followed by share market performance, 57 per cent, and retirement futures, 54 per cent. Sixty-nine per cent of clients also said they are concerned with the independence or non-alignment of their financial advisor, while 20 per cent said it is not a problem.

Of the advisor-led strategies to investments, making tax-effective contributions to superannuation emerged the most popular.

Super contributions were preferred by 95 per cent of the participants, while margin lending and negatively geared property investments were less popular at 16 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively. The focus on retirement also reflects the general profile of investor clients, 71 per cent of whom are 51 years old and above.