Obama’s re-election top concern of advisers: survey

Four more years of an Obama administration was listed as the top concern for 70% of advisers surveyed by Brinker Capital Inc.
And in a distant second place, 18% of advisers listed a divided Congress as their biggest concern.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s winning the White House was a top concern among 5% of respondents, and the growing influence of the Tea Party was tops on the minds of 4% of the nearly 450 advisers surveyed.
The results of the survey, which appear in the latest Brinker Barometer quarterly report, was conducted in May and released today.
Brinker president John Coyne was not surprised by the findings.
“You have to think about the constituency of advisers,” he said. “They are not going to support anything that negatively impacts the ability of their clients to grow wealth. We think advisers are a very good barometer of the feelings of the affluent.”
While the general tone of the responses suggested very little support for Mr. Obama, 51% of advisers said they believe their clients are faring better financially than they were a year ago, and 47% said the financial markets are in line with expectations.
This is the sixth year of the quarterly surveys, which tend to evolve along with current events. And, as in 2008, Mr. Coyne said the survey will be tailored around the political environment during this presidential year.
“For the past several quarters, the upcoming presidential election has been the primary focus of our respondents, with the majority indicating that a change in administration is the best route to establishing a firm economic foundation for the U.S.,” said Mr. Coyne. “Turning to their own clients, most advisers report a holding pattern, evidencing little change in optimism from the fourth quarter of 2011.
Among respondents, 96% said the economy will be the most decisive factor in determining the outcome of the presidential election, followed by health care reform at 4%.
A decline in unemployment numbers was seen by 52% of respondents as a factor favoring President Obama.
In terms of the biggest events of the recent past, 72% of advisers highlighted the fiscal and debt situation in Europe.
On the subject of Mr. Romney’s running mate, 36% of advisers believe the nod should go to Sen. Marco Rubio, while 28% believe the job should go to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

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