Understandably he's uneasy about stepping into the role of physicist-in-chief now that his superior has fallen by the wayside, but indeed it's time for him to walk like a man. "When I was a child I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things..."
The Heaven's Gate followers had some adjustment periods once their Nike wearing commander had moved on: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/W6IAf_y8pQc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Eventually, they learned to put their Nikes on w/o Dear Leader.
15 years from now, when stocks will still have zero return vs 1997 - 1,000x more money will be invested in long-only funds comparing to trend following programs. reason: most investors will never ever "get it".
This is a failure by the industry, not investors. Advisors have no other options than investing in stock or bond funds, and they can't tell you to sell either.
Huh? Everyone has options. Everyone has choices. If you don't think much, yes, perhaps you are right. So stop trying to blame some amorphous boogeyman hiding behind the tree ("the industry"). The mirror in the bathroom is a good place for most investors to start. Now on the other hand if you want to get ahead by bitching and whining about nasty Wall Street types (there are some for sure, but not all) my advice is clearly useless. If you want bailouts, free money and cradle to grave government diaper changing--don't listen to me.
It's very obvious you have no experience as a financial representative. You don't know anything about the workings of the industry. You have only reported returns of what others who follow trend following have done. Since you don't have previous experience as a representative, you don't know anything about what you can or cannot do for a client.