Poll: Elections bad for investment business

Nearly half of the financial advisers taking part in a poll by adviser firm SEI believe the upcoming elections have created “fear and uncertainty” among their clients. 

Survey respondents said the top issues weighing on the minds of their investor clients are continued unemployment, the potential for a double-dip recession, pending tax changes and budget deficits.

Among advisers, the two key concerns are new compliance regulations and the fate of tax rates that are scheduled to increase next year.  

More than two-thirds of advisers polled believe that a compromise will be reached and some of the George W. Bush-era tax cuts will remain in place. 

Further, a majority of advisers remain “cautiously optimistic on the economy” heading into 2011 and believe that the biggest barrier to their success in 2010 was “attracting new clients due to unsettled markets.”

The poll tapped the opinions of 238 financial advisers during the two weeks preceding the November elections.