Confidence within the trust and estate planning sector is recovering from all-time lows seen last winter, according to an industry body.
In its latest quarterly global survey of members, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners’ (STEP) reported growing positivity among that the industry was picking up.
Confidence, as measured by a series of indices, has risen by 10% in the STEP Near Term Confidence Index to 22 points, from 20, for the next three months. The index read minus 13 a year ago.
The Long Term Confidence Index, meanwhile, which looks at the next 12 months, is up from 37 to 43, having begun 2009 at minus 2.
STEP said the surveys take account of member views across a broad scope of jurisdictions and types of firm. They are conducted by taking the balance of survey respondents replying that they expect business to “improve” or “significantly improve” relative to those expecting business to “decline” or “decline significantly”.
STEP chief executive David Harvey said: “This continued rise in member confidence bodes well for the future of the trust and estate industry. It is particularly striking in the context of a broader economic recovery still widely seen as fragile and highlights the strong underlying growth in our sector.
“The momentum here is also reflected in STEP’s membership figures which rose by more than 10% in 2009 despite the global downturn.”
