Should FAs Allow Clients’ Political Opinions to Influence Their Investment Decisions?

Should FAs Allow Client's Political Opinions to Influence their Investment Decisions?

Here we are again—another presidential election year. If it’s like the last couple of elections, financial advisors are sure to see some clients wringing their hands over which candidate will win the White House and how that will impact the financial markets and their investments. At the very least, you’re likely to get an earful of some clients’ political viewpoints—which is fine if they don’t try to correlate them with how they should invest their money.

For decades, investors have tried to find some correlation between elections and investment performance, hoping it will foretell how a particular outcome will impact their portfolio so they can adjust their investment strategy appropriately.

Of course, if you search far enough, you might be able to uncover data that supports such a link. But you’re not going to find any that decisively shows a causal relationship or enough of one to warrant serious consideration for changing investment strategies based on election results. Still, some clients have such strong political views that they see a connection in all aspects of their lives, including how they invest their money.

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Winning the “Why Do I Need a Financial Advisor” Argument

Winning the Why Do I Need an Advisor Argument

Long before it became a field of academic study, legendary investor Benjamin Graham knew a thing or two about behavioral finance. Graham went on to say, “In the end, how your investments behave is much less important than how you behave.”

For financial advisors, understanding how emotional and intellectual processes combine to influence investors’ decisions offers the opportunity to help their clients avoid costly mistakes and optimize investment outcomes.

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Creating Urgency with Prospects

Creating Urgency with Prospects

I can recall few times in my career when business has been as slow as it has been recently. Perhaps the slowdown is due to the fast approaching year-end. Certainly, the pending Presidential election has a lot to do with it, as does the recent DOL running. Clients and Advisors alike have adopted a wait-and-see attitude. But there also are more traditional reasons at work.

People don’t enjoy the prospect of saving for a rainy day. There’s always a reason to delay investing, and never a ‘right’ time to make the move.

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What’s New on Don Connelly 24/7 in March 2015

What's New Don Connelly 247 March 2015

In this month’s blog post from the series “What’s New on Don Connelly 24/7“ we recap new podcasts, Weekly Focus issues, and the Monthly Newsletter from March 2015. Read on!

What’s new on Don Connelly 24/7 in March 2015

Remember, most links in this post will redirect you to premium content, accessible only to Professional and PLATINUM members of Don Connelly 24/7. Non-members can still see what topics Don discusses, what questions he answers, and what issues he is helping solve through the learning center.

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