Wednesday’s Headlines: Hey Washington – investors trust their advisors more than you

Elected officials, take note: a recent poll by John Hancock Financial Services found that 82 percent of investors trust their financial advisors, while just 30 percent had faith in Federal Reserve head Ben Bernanke and only 28 percent trusted President Barack Obama, according to an Investment News story today.

Meanwhile, 68 percent strongly distrust members of Congress, 57 percent strongly distrust participants of Occupy Wall Street and 44 percent don’t trust the president. On the upside, 76 percent of the 1,001 polled said they felt certain in their ability to evaluate an advisor and 74 percent felt they could find an advisor they trust.

The story quotes John Hancock spokesman David Longritz about the investor-advisor relationship: “Despite ongoing uncertainty in financial markets, this bond is an enduring one.”

Investment or financial advisors is also a category of financial professionals nearly always looking for qualified job seekers. In fact, our site, eFinancialCareers.com, lists 453 openings in the Private Banking/Wealth Management sector and another 182 positions in the Investment Consulting category.

 

Other News:

Deutsche will cap its bonuses this year to $266,000. [Businessweek]

Goldman and Morgan Stanley said employees who expose the companies to financial or legal repercussions could face clawbacks. [WSJ]

UBS requires that top bankers stay with the bank for three years to qualify for its special bonus plan. [Financial Times]

BofA’s Atlanta headquarters sold at auction for $235 million after the bank missed mortgage payments. [Bloomberg]

Private equity may take banks’ place in real estate dealings. [Financial Times]

Private equity deals in Israel grew 18 percent to $2.88 billion last year. [Reuters]

RBS’s CEO thought of resigning after government pressure to not receive his bonus. [DealBook]

MasterCard doubled its quarterly dividend. [Bloomberg]