Target: Wall Street

A third hurdle, and perhaps most difficult for the Occupiers to overcome, is that their agenda is leftist. Lasn and White are savvy in trying to brand their movement as a "left-right hybrid," because appealing to multiple stretches of the political spectrum offers a way to circumvent the gridlock between left and right that characterizes politics today. But their particular proposals, amounting to a buildup of taxes and regulation, are unlikely to win much support on the rightward side of the political spectrum, including from the Ron Paul enthusiasts who have shown an Occupy affinity.

Downsizing the Banks

One policy idea that might gain considerable traction has emerged not from the Occupy movement but from the GOP presidential field. It has elements that could hold appeal across diverse portions of the political spectrum, and thus it might be a relatively viable left-right hybrid. The idea is to downsize the largest financial institutions so as to end their Too Big to Fail status and prevent future bailouts.

Jon Huntsman, the former Utah governor and Obama ambassador to China, is the presidential hopeful most closely associated with this line of thought. He unveiled a plan in November focused on limiting bank size by charging a fee on assets above a certain percentage of GDP. The plan also raised the possibility of imposing a hard cap on asset size, and Huntsman pushed for tighter capital requirements and limits on leverage, as well.

Huntsman has been considered a long shot in the GOP primaries, but his poll numbers began edging upward late last year, possibly because of his bank-downsizing plan, along with his rhetoric about rival Mitt Romney being "in the hip pocket of Wall Street." Huntsman has placed much of his funding and energy into this month's New Hampshire primary, hoping to emerge from that New England gauntlet as a serious contender in the race.

Still, even if Huntsman is not the nominee, the bank-downsizing idea might well have staying power in the presidential race and beyond. Other GOP hopefuls, including Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry, have spoken of oversized financial institutions as a problem. A GOP electorate averse to taxes and regulations might see merit in measures aimed at disallowing future bailouts. (Plus, Huntsman proposes to use fees collected from banks to finance tax cuts for non-financial companies.)

For liberals, a downsize-the-banks push could have the appeal of taking a firmer line against Big Finance than did the Dodd-Frank legislation, which expanded regulators' oversight of "systemically important" institutions but which is widely seen as having fallen short of ending Too Big To Fail. One could imagine President Obama signing onto to something like the Huntsman plan, though it would mean a tacit acknowledgement that his signature financial legislation was inadequate in this regard.

If a bank-shrinking effort gains steam, it can be expected to meet much resistance, not least from the targeted big institutions. One argument sure to rise in opposition is that the policy would "punish success." That claim, though, is weakened by the big banks' recent growth stemming in major part from the financial crisis and resulting government-backed mergers, hardly evocative of "success."

For advisors, an effort to downsize financial institutions is a daunting prospect, though if enacted it surely would create winners as well as losers. It would mean that the shakeout already occurring in the field becomes more intense, as big institutions shed some of their assets. That would translate into layoffs for some, but also opportunities at smaller institutions or in going independent.

This election year there will be a great deal of rhetorical bombast directed against the financial industry. Much of it may be mere background noise for financial professionals going about their jobs. But if "Downsize Wall Street" emerges as a catchy political slogan, be sure to pay attention.

Kenneth Silber is senior editor of Research magazine.