Wealth managers advising clients to adopt tax-managed investing strategies. Half of bank-based wealth managers think that Barack Obama's victory in the recent U.S. presidential election will have a negative impact on their clients, according to a "Quick Poll" of attendees at an SEI private-banking symposium in Denver last week.

The other half of those surveyed either weren't sure what overall impact an Obama administration would have on their clients' portfolios (38%), or thought the effect of the new president's policies would be, on balance, good for their clients.

Capital gains

A clear majority -- 88% -- say that Obama's main mission with respect to U.S. personal finance is to restore confidence. Respondents were divided evenly as to whether the president-elect's policies will in fact -- whatever his mission may be -- have an impact on investor behavior.

The bank-based wealth-management executives surveyed were unanimous in seeing a capital-gains-tax hike from 15% to 20% as a result of Obama's White House win. As a result, they're advising their clients to consider tax-managed investing strategies. In fact, 44% have already incorporated tax-managed strategies for at least some of their clients, and the rest say they plan to get cracking on that.

"It's quite clear from these survey findings that wealth managers believe they will be operating in a different environment and that they need to adjust strategies for their clients accordingly," says Jim Morris, senior v.p. of SEI's private-banking group.

Oaks, Pa.-based SEI, a manager of managers and investment-processing provider, hosts occasional asset-management symposiums for bank- and trust-company-based wealth-management executives in regional centers. -FWR

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