Only a quarter (25%) of IFAs feel the parties' policies differ too much to be positive for the industry, with just 5% viewing the coalition Government as ‘very bad news'.
On a broad level, confidence is high that the coalition will guide the country through the recovery, with 49% of IFAs slightly optimistic and 14% very optimistic. However, when measuring IFA optimism on specific policy areas, views become more mixed:
• Regulation and enforcement - 39% are optimistic that the coalition will serve the industry well
• Taxation - 38% of IFAs feel pessimistic that the Con-Lib partnership with deliver what the industry needs
• Assisting the IFA & broker community - despite an overall sense of optimism that the coalition is good for the adviser market, 32% of IFAs remain ambivalent towards it assisting them as a community
Mark Stopard, head of marketing at Sun Life Financial of Canada said: "This barometer of IFA views shows that at first glance, the coalition government appears to have been broadly welcomed with optimism by the IFA market, which is perhaps surprising given the initial concern that such an arrangement would bring.
"But when we drilled down to measure how the coalition would deliver on specific areas, views were more divided. To see such support on regulation and enforcement at this early stage is particularly pleasing, and arguably taxation will always be a hot topic for any new government.
"The general level of optimism is encouraging although a third of IFAs remain ambivalent regarding assistance specific to the IFA and broker community. Already we have seen a number of proposed changes that will have a significant impact to advisers and their clients and I'm sure they will be staying close to the events of the next few weeks as policies are developed in more detail.”
