A four-year presidential term runs 1,461 days (that includes Leap Day). While a single day may seem to last forever, a period of four years can likewise seem to just fly by.

When a new U.S. president is elected, it is customary for pundits and political observers to watch how the leader executes his campaign promises and job requirements in the first 100 days, which represents 7 percent of the president’s term in office.

In a time of great upheaval in terms of the political direction of the United States, the first 100 days of the Donald Trump administration are indeed going to be watched closely.

Affluent investors will be among those keeping an eye on how financial matters transpire during the first 100 days. But those investors are not focused entirely on financial issues as they watch the young administration function.

A survey by Spectrem’s Investor Pulse asked more than 900 investors what they consider to be the single most important issue to be addressed in the first 100 days of the Trump presidency. Given six choices to choose from, the No. 1 selection was not tax reform, or job creation.

Just over one-quarter of investors selected “healthcare’’ as the No. 1 concern. The Trump administration and the GOP-led Senate and House had pledged to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act immediately upon the start of the term.

The investors in the study were segmented by gender and net worth. The investors with a net worth of $5 million or more had the least concern over healthcare, but it still included 21 percent of those investors. A greater percentage (24 percent) said tax reform was a greater concern; the new administration has promised a significant revamp of the U.S. tax code.

Advisors should keep an eye on any new laws or regulations affecting health care laws and expenses. Many investors report the high cost of health care and medical bills affect their investment structure, and any changes could allow for greater investment opportunities if costs do go down.

Among all investors, the second greatest concern was terrorism, national security and cyber security, at 19 percent. There was little variation based on segmentation, although female investors expressed greater concern and those with less than $500,000 in net worth reported less concern on that topic.

Eighteen percent of investors said job creation was the No.1 matter that needed to be addressed in the first 100 days.

The other choices offered were tax reform (16 percent overall), infrastructure (13 percent) and protecting the borders (7 percent).

 

*According to Spectrem research, there are currently 29.8 million households with $100,000 - $1 million in net worth (not including primary residence, NIPR).  There are 9.1 Millionaire households ($1 million - $5 million net worth, NIPR), 1.21 million Ultra High Net Worth households ($5 million - $25 million net worth, NIPR) and 145,000 households with more than $25 million in net worth, NIPR.

 ©2017 Spectrem Group