New adviser survey doesn't bode well for Obama

Whatever happens with today's election, it's pretty clear financial advisers tracked by Brinker Capital Inc. are hoping for a change in the White House. Nearly 500 advisers surveyed last month as part of the quarterly Brinker Barometer report found that 53% believe the current tax rates are “on target” and another 33% believe the rates are too high. On which candidate will likely make the Bush-era tax cuts permanent, 88% of respondents selected Republican Mitt Romney. Corporate tax rates? As one might have expected, 70% of respondents believe cuts are needed there, too. In terms of the single most important issue determining who they will vote for, 88% of the adviser respondents chose the economy, followed national defense at 5%, and pro-life/abortion at 3%. In case you haven't already gotten the sense that many of these respondents are leaning to the right, more than 80% of respondents believe the best way to manage the federal deficit and budget is to cut spending, and 76% of respondents do not believe President Obama has advanced U.S. national security in the Middle East. The only part of the survey results that don't suggest a pure slam dunk of this group voting for Mr. Romney is how the respondents compared and contrasted the past few years. Compared to four years ago, 44% of respondents think the U.S. economy is now worse off, while 41% think it is better off, and 15% think it is about the same. But compared to this time last year, only 36% think the economy is worse off, 26% think it is better off, and 38% think it is unchanged. However, when the advisers were asked whether their clients are better off now than they were a year ago, only 18% said they are worse off now, 34% said the clients are better off, and 48% said clients are about the same as they were a year ago.