SHERMAN OAKS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Woodbridge Wealth, an alternative financial solutions firm that creates opportunities for financial advisors, family offices, and high net-worth individuals, today made public the results of its advisor election survey. The questionnaire, conducted in September 2016, assessed financial advisor confidence and sentiment regarding the economy and the race for the White House. Respondents included advisors from the RIA and insurance channels.

A majority (83%) of respondents believe that Donald Trump is the best candidate for fostering long-term growth and building a healthy U.S. economy. Hillary Clinton trailed with just 6%, while the remainder of advisors polled felt that neither candidate would benefit the country’s economic needs.

“Regardless of the election’s outcome, financial advisors who responded to our survey made themselves abundantly clear as to who they believe is best-suited to set the country on a path to economic vitality,” said Bob Shapiro, President & CEO of Woodbridge Group of Companies. “Throughout the survey, we see the same economic themes repeated over and over again: job one for the new Administration has to be economic fixes.”

Fiduciary Rule Tops Concerns

The survey found that almost 31% of respondents believe the Fiduciary Rule is important enough to warrant discussion at the next presidential debate. Other topics that respondents felt should be addressed by the candidates include Dodd-Frank (22%), Social Security (15%), or the Wall Street Reform Plan for a new 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act (12%).

Hunger for Alts

In the past year, real estate was the alternative asset most frequently recommended by advisors (64%), followed by other real assets (28%), hedge funds and private equity (6% each), and venture capital (4%). Only 18% of advisors said they don’t recommend any type of alternative investments to their clients. Fifty-six percent of respondents said they plan to increase their clients’ allocations in 2017, and 19% will keep the allocations at 2016 levels. Just 4% plan to decrease their clients’ alts exposure.

“Alternatives are usually subject to less regulation, help manage volatility and have a low correlation on returns, making them a favorable choice among advisors and their clients,” Dayne Roseman, Managing Director at Woodbridge Wealth said. “Given the market swings this year, it’s no surprise advisors are choosing to increase alternatives exposure for their clients.”

Split on Interest Rates

According to the survey, financial advisors are divided as to whether or not the Federal Reserve should raise interest rates by the end of 2016. Forty-four percent of respondents said they should, while 38% say they shouldn’t, and 17% are undecided.

Among other survey findings:

The first 100 days of the new administration should be focused on creating jobs, curbing inflation and bolstering consumer and business spending (44%); national security issues (35%); making Washington more efficient, effective and accountable (12%); and immigration (6%).

78% of respondents said that robo-advisors pose no threat to their practices.

Making changes to corporate tax rates will have the most beneficial impact on the economy (75%); capital gains tax (10%); and Social Security (8%).

For a copy of the full survey, please contact:

Gina Feghali, Gina@w.group

About Woodbridge Wealth

Woodbridge Wealth is an alternatives financial solutions firm that creates opportunities for advisors, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals. The management team at Woodbridge Wealth has more than three decades of industry experience and has closed more than $1 billion in financial transactions. It helps countless clients realize strong returns with lower-risk products without the burden of long-term commitments.