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FSI to Spotlight Members’ Opinions: 2012 Politics and Equities Outlook

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February 13, 2012 • Reprints

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This year, we at FSI are expanding our efforts to spotlight our members’ opinions through regular advisor polls, in an attempt to take snapshots of the mindset of our membership. We completed our first poll last month, focusing on some of the headline political, economic, tax and regulatory issues that will impact you and your clients over the coming years, as well as on your outlook for equities performance and the economy. 

Respondents to our poll believe that the Senate will shift to Republican control; that the economy will stay flat while taxes go up; and that the Department of Labor should not redefine the term “fiduciary.” 

After all, advisors are on the front lines of securing the financial futures of hard-working Americans, and they have strong and insightful opinions. One of those strong opinions is that advisors do not believe the Department of Labor should be redefining the term fiduciary, which would have the effect of pricing millions of Americans out of advice on their IRAs. The Department would do well to listen to these advisors and keep their expert opinions in mind as they move forward. 

Here are some highlights of our first survey results, which was conducted in-house between Jan. 30 and Feb. 6, 2012, through an e-mailed link to all 35,000 advisor members of FSI:

Question 1: Who do you believe will be the GOP Presidential nominee (not who do you want to win, but who will end up winning)?

Mitt Romney        90%

Ron Paul             1%

Newt Gingrich       9%

Rick Santorum     1%

 

Question 2: If the election was held today, would you vote for President Obama or Mitt Romney? 

President Obama  19%

Mitt Romney           81%  

 

Question 6: Will the U.S. Senate stay in Democrat control or shift to Republican control?

 

Democrat            31%

Republican             69%

 

Question 7: Do you believe capital gains taxes are heading up or down? 

Up                            91%

Down                   9%

 

Question 8: Do you believe 2012 will be a strong, neutral or weak year for equities performance? 

Strong               36%

Neutral                  56%

Weak                  9%

 

Question 9: Do you believe the Department of Labor should redefine the definition of fiduciary for financial advisors giving advice on IRAs?

Yes                  28%

No                          72%

 

Question 10: Will the US economy recover in 2012, stay flat or worsen? 

Recover             38%

Stay flat                55%

Worsen                6% 

  You can read the entire survey results here.

About the Author
Dale Brown, Financial Services Institute

Dale Brown, Financial Services Institute

Dale Brown is the president and CEO of the Financial Services Institute (FSI), an advocacy organization for independent broker-dealers and independent financial advisors. Established in January 2004, FSI has over 120 broker-dealer members and over 35,000 financial advisor members.

Dale brings over 20 years of association management experience to FSI, most recently as the associate executive director of FPA. For IAFP, one of FPA’s predecessor organizations, he led the government relations program and the broker-dealer program, which grew to more than 130 member firms by the time FPA was created in January 2000. Dale also led the successful fight in the mid-1990s against the IRS’s attempts to force broker-dealers to reclassify independent contractor representatives as statutory employees. In both IAFP and FPA, Dale played a critical role in the senior management team and brings broad leadership experience to FSI in his role as founding president & CEO.

FSI’s mission is to create a healthier regulatory environment for independent broker-dealers and their affiliated independent financial advisors through aggressive and effective advocacy, education, and public awareness. For more information, visit financialservices.org.

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