While advisors are split on whether the recent government shutdown had a negative impact on their clients, the majority of them believe another one will be averted come January, according to a recently released poll by the Financial Services Institute.
The FSI poll of 2,500 independent advisors also found that advisors' opposition to the Department of Labor's definition of fiduciary revamp remains strong.
The poll gauged advisors' stance on a number of issues—the economy, taxes, succession planning as well as the DOL's pending rerelease of its rule to amend the definition of fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
While 91% of the advisors polled said they opposed the DOL's fiduciary definition revamp, Phyllis Borzi, assistant secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration said recently that EBSA "is close" to finishing its work on the reproposed rule. A redraft will likely be out by April or May.
The poll also found that 77% of advisors believe that a short-term fix will be passed to avoid another shutdown early next year. More than half of advisors (57%) said the economy would stay flat in 2014, while 59% expect a neutral performance from the equities markets next year.
