Trump as ‘supreme ruler’ and ‘attractive’? Advisers react to long, historic speech

The 75-minute acceptance speech Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump delivered Thursday night provided little detail for financial advisers to gauge how his leadership would improve the lives of their clients or themselves, though some still think he is the best candidate for the job.
Mr. Trump, on stage at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, pledged to reduce corporate and personal taxes, as well as excessive regulations. He did not offer policy specifics, but said, due to his economic strategies, “trillions of dollars will start flowing into our country.”
After the speech, advisers said they worry Mr. Trump is presenting ideas that Americans want to hear without having any real plans to achieve them. They also wonder why he didn’t discuss working with the rest of the government’s leaders to turn his job-creating, tax-lowering propositions into reality.
Carolyn McClanahan, the director of financial planning at Life Planning Partners, said his promises to make tax filing easier and to ease tax burdens are meaningless without him providing a path to achieving such reforms.
“I think he thinks he’ll be a supreme ruler,” she said. “He assumes he can do all this without Congress’ help.”
But for some in the advice business and the wider voting public, having the vision without the details is OK at this point.
(More: 10 sectors to watch when Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump becomes president)
“The good side of this is, what we see is what we get,” said Knut Rostad, president of the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard, who noted that Mr. Trump carried his unique style and approach throughout the speech. “Obviously, a lot of people respond positively to what they see.”
The impact that Mr. Trump’s ideas and policies might have on financial planners is a completely open question, though, he said.
“I think to the extent that Mr. Trump represents a right-of-center approach, that’s where a lot of advisers are, so I could see in that way he might be attractive,” Mr. Rostad said.
But for Ed Gjertsen, vice president of Mack Investment Securities and chairman of the Financial Planning Association, Mr. Trump’s remarks about undoing regulation make him wonder how the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule for retirement advice would be affected.
“I don’t think the Trump camp has an answer to that,” he said.
Mr. Trump’s speech offered no surprising economic initiatives; most of the speakers during the four-day RNC also backed tax reforms, in addition to financial reforms.
The negative and foreboding tone of Mr. Trump’s speech, which repeatedly mentioned the theme of “law and order” and America being unsafe and financially worrisome, bothered some financial planners.
It seems misleading that his “end of the world as we know it” speech doesn’t mention that the stock market is up 180% since its low point in 2009, said David Edwards, founder of Heron Financial Group.
When he discusses Mr. Trump with clients, he tries to highlight how the markets are doing well, and points out that the nation’s budget deficit, which had surged under President Barack Obama because of the economic crisis, is now returning to a point where a balanced budget is in sight.
“For Mr. Trump not to mention these things feels like a lie,” Mr. Edwards said.
Bob Seawright, chief investment officer for Madison Avenue Securities, a boutique broker-dealer and investment advisory firm, said how people perceived Mr. Trump’s speech has everything to do with which party they are predisposed to believing.
He warns advisers to keep in mind that the nation’s commander-in-chief can’t control the economy and the markets by himself or herself.
“The reality is presidents do have impact on the economy and markets, but a lot less than we tend to think,” Mr. Seawright said. 
Advisers, who, like most Americans, once doubted Mr. Trump’s chances long term, agree that he has to be taken seriously now. He defeated 16 qualified candidates to become the Republican nominee for the job.
“I wouldn’t expect him to be able to turn this into a win in the general election, but [Hillary] Clinton is a weak candidate,” said Paul Auslander, director of financial planning at ProVise Management Group, referring to the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. “She doesn’t sell well in Peoria.”

This story update a previous version of the story to correct a quote and figure from David Edwards on past market performance.