Advisers fare way better than policymakers on 'do not trust' list

American investors have plenty of trust in their financial advisers, but not their elected leaders. A John Hancock Financial Services Inc. survey of 1,001 investors revealed that a sizable 82% of those polled said they trust their financial adviser. Policymakers in Washington didn't fare nearly as well. The second-most-trusted person on the list was Federal Reserve head Ben Bernanke — and only 30% of the investors said they had faith in him. The next-most-trusted person in the survey was President Barack Obama, with 28% of the surveyed investors saying they trusted the president. The study didn't ask the investors, all of whom have at least $75,000 in annual household income and more than $100,000 in assets, whether their advisers are fiduciaries or commissioned brokers. But John Hancock's chief marketing officer, David Longfritz, said he believes that the results would not vary much by standard of care. “They'd still have that same level of trust in that person; I don't think [how the adviser gets paid] would change anything,” Mr. Longfritz said. “We've done a number of focus groups and asked people to talk about their advisers: The clients always felt like the advice was focused on them.” He noted that one of the deterrents to getting clients to invest during tough economic times is a lack of trust in their own financial adviser, so a strong relationship means a lot these days. “Despite ongoing uncertainty in financial markets, this bond is an enduring one,” Mr. Longfritz added. Participants in the survey have a lot of confidence in their own ability to pick out their financial advisers, with 76% claiming they feel certain in their ability to evaluate an adviser, and 74% feeling assured that they could find an adviser they trust. Of note, congressional members are “distrusted strongly” by 68% of the polled participants, with the Occupy Wall Street movement triggering the same response from 57% of the investors. Meanwhile, fully 44% of those surveyed said they don't trust the president.