Article originally posted on Advisor Perspectives
Tomorrow’s election will bring gloomy punditry about America. Whatever the results, some will deem Donald Trump the winner.
I just returned from visits to Oslo and the Venice Biennale International, a contemporary art exhibition. The art was great – but the repeated questions about America were not. In Norway and Italy, I was often asked, ”What’s wrong with America?”
Trump and “mass shootings” topped concerns among those I met. President Biden was a distant third. The backdrop: Will America and a Republican House be a reliable NATO ally if Putin raises the stakes?
Concerns from Europe mirror concerns here. At the far left, an MSNBC writer claimed, “The results of next month’s voting will determine if there are any more real elections in the future.” (The far right is no better, with claims that Paul Pelosi and his attacker were gay lovers.)
Presidential historian Michael Beschloss raised the rhetoric still again. He wondered if in 2072 an historian will say that November 8 was about whether there will be a democracy and “whether our children will be arrested and conceivably killed.”
Like headlines will be amplified Tuesday night if either side wins big; if it is the Republicans, Trump will be front and center.
I fear that stories will put Trump first and will mislead or speak nonsense about the election and what it means – to the country, democracy and the 2024 election.
We won’t hear much about the factors that motivated center and center-right voters to vote Republican – like Biden’s economic policies contributing to inflation and recession or his ineffective leadership. I fear that state and local crime policies and “woke” curriculum in schools will fade to the background.
Instead, Trump-led stories could exaggerate his “grip” on the party, eroding the image of Republicans. In June, Gallup measured Republicans (R), Independents (I) and Democrats (D) at 27-43-27 percent. Some pollsters say half of registered Republicans may support him in 2024.
Among voters, 43% are registered independent. Yet, this understates the number of the center-right and center-left voters disgusted with both parties and silent today. This silent center is closer to 60%. They care but have turned away from conventional media and rejected party fringes right and left. Many have moved to new media such as The Dispatch or Common Sense — Bari Weiss.
Elections are about creating a governing consensus based on shared principles and values in tough times. Among voters, 60% are functionally outside the two parties, and fringes right and left pull us apart. Success requires vigilant ongoing discussion to seek common ground.
Efficient free markets are about serving business owners, employees and stakeholders. They depend on fiduciary principles and values, the foundation of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Loyalty, care and utmost good faith let individuals trust their adviser. Success requires a fiduciary culture and rules that are constantly strengthened and championed.
The warts on our politics are clear. But the warts on fiduciary duties are difficult to see. The markets and political culture are related. Each requires fidelity to principles and values reflected in the nation’s ideals and observed day to day.
The political news culture that favors words over deeds, clicks over content and headlines over discussion effects fiduciary care. We are at a low ebb.
Fiduciary principles and values have been obscured and diminished in the SEC’s Reg BI. The SEC staff even wrote that stating “fiduciary” on Form CRS is “extraneous.”
Tamar Frankel, professor of law emerita at the Boston University School of Law, wrote in 2020, “Regulation Best Interest waters-down significantly brokers’ fiduciary duties. Hopefully, this rule will fail to achieve its purpose or is fixed before it brings true disasters on the securities markets. Otherwise, investors and the securities markets may pay the price.”
Frankel referred to market conduct in the 1920s that contributed to the crash and led to the 40 Act. She likened that conduct to what state regulators today warn investors about: social media “finfluencers.” That was discussed in an Institute panel in September.
Trump’s success stories garner attention, clicks and passion, as do similar headlines on the left. They put political, legal and financial considerations aside. But Trump has peaked. Party power brokers know his nomination is a death march.
The party of Lincoln does not want to die on the hill of Trump. The pundits are wrong, and I am optimistic Trump will be retired and the future of America is bright.
Article originally posted on Advisor Perspectives
