Financial advisors say their clients are starting to ask them about the potential impact of Omicron-related market uncertainty on their investments.

Advisor and broker Tony Frigoletto says he has been receiving emails, calls and texts from clients about the Covid-19 variant's impact on their portfolios.

With increased volatility in the markets, clients are "wondering what it means for them," said Frigoletto, managing partner at Red Bank, New Jersey-based River's Edge Wealth Partners, which is part of the LPL Financial network.

"We share what we know and talk through that," Frigoletto added, noting that, thanks to the pandemic, he is familiar with these types of discussions. "[We] confirm the client's investment objective and appetite for risk, along with the liquidity in safe assets or cash to weather any market sustained downturn."

The first case of the Omicron variant in the U.S. has been detected in California, Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, announced on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warned that the Omicron variant could jeopardize global economic recovery from the pandemic. The OECD, which aims to foster prosperity, said that the risk of continued supply disruptions, perhaps associated with further Covid-19 waves, could result in longer and higher inflationary pressure.

"There is a constant trickle of inquiries, and I expect that to continue until the markets settle down or there is more clarity on how [Omicron] may affect economic and market performance," Frigoletto of River's Edge said.

Advisor Kevin Smith, Melbourne Beach, Florida-based vice president at registered investment advisor firm Wealthspire Advisors, says Omicron has cropped up during conversations with his clients, but he has not seen any panic.

"I believe the lack of panic is due to the fact that we have been having this conversation since March 2020 and again when the Delta variant hit earlier this year," Smith said. "Any advisor that truly cares about their clients should have already been having these conversations."

Smith says he reached out to clients after the initial wave of the pandemic to revisit their goals, risk tolerance and time horizons to check for potential changes. Some clients who were uncomfortable with the market volatility and shorter time horizons were moved to more conservative portfolios; those who were comfortable with the volatility were advised to stay the course, while clients with long-term horizons were guided through opportunities to rebalance.

"We reiterated these same conversations [that we had] earlier this year with the emergence of the Delta variant," he added.

Last week the World Health Organization designated Omicron as a variant of concern and many countries, including the U.S., have imposed travel restrictions on travelers from southern Africa.

On Sunday, Fauci said it will take around two more weeks to obtain definitive information on the transmissibility and severity of the Omicron variant.

"We will have to face this new threat just as we faced those that came before it," President Biden said on Monday.

Meanwhile, this week spokespeople for Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs told Reuters that the firms have not changed their return-to-office plans in light of the Omicron variant. Some of the firms say they're monitoring the situation and will follow the advice of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the newswire.

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