Next week’s U.S. presidential election and the forthcoming implementation of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule are the biggest concerns for financial advisors in the U.S., according to Fidelity Institutional Asset Management LLC’s (FIAM) latest quarterly survey.
Specifically, more than 28% of advisors in the U.S. said that the DOL’s fiduciary rule and the outcome of the U.S. presidential election were their top issues in third quarter, up from almost 21% in the second quarter and 16% in the first quarter, according to the latest Fidelity Advisor Investment Pulse study.
“Advisors have spent a large part of this year assessing the impact of the DOL rule on their business model and how they work with clients,” says Scott Couto, FIAM’s president, in a statement. “On top of that, they’ve had to work hard to help investors manage through a backdrop of political uncertainty.”
Apart from these issues, advisors are also increasingly focused on interest rates, the survey found, as expectations for U.S. interest rate hikes have ramped up.
“However, as history has shown, trying to guess when the [U.S. Federal Reserve Board] will raise interest rates is not always the most productive exercise,” adds Couto. “Regardless of whether and when we’ll see an increase in interest rates, it is important for advisors to use the opportunity to educate their clients on the role of fixed income in a diversified portfolio.”
The other top issues for advisors include portfolio management, market volatility and searching out yield and income.
The study reflects the views of more than 1,000 advisors surveyed online.