Normally this is the time of year for top 10 lists, but as industry guru Ric Edelman and countless others much less famous in TVland and Twitterdom have noted, there is a shortage of powerful, electrifying issues for financial advisors.

So we’re down to five:

1. Heed the wisdom of another vaunted financial advisor, Rip Van Winkle, and tune out the rehash about the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule for retirement plan advisors until it is finalized in 2016 -- which it will be.

The fiduciary rule will happen will happen because President Obama has made clear he sees the rule as a cornerstone of his legacy. Fiduciary will happen because industry and Republican opponents failed in their best chance to kill the proposal in Congress when the budget bill passed last week without language to stop it.

The biggest potential changes in the proposed DOL rule could be lengthening the implementation time and explicit permission for professionals to be compensated by the sale of financial products rather than just earning their keep from a flat fee.

Again, save your time; use your brain cells for more productive pursuits until the final rule comes out. The  fiduciary rule has become one of the most boring issues in Washington. Everything that could be said about it has been said 1,000 times over.

2. Who will succeed Rich Ketchum as CEO of Finra?

Washington was built on idle speculation so who am I to be a contrarian? Pundits have to eat as do their cocker spaniels, so here goes.

Will Finra choose an insider or an outsider? And if it is an outsider, will the American Medical Association-, American Bar Association-like industry regulator go for a politician or someone very politically connected, like recently resigned Republican Securities and Exchange Commissioner Dan Gallagher? Right after Ketchum announced he was stepping down, rumors Gallagher would succeed him stepped up -- big time.

Will Ketchum’s successor put RK’s on-again, off-again campaign to have Finra oversee financial advisors back on the front burner? Finra could use extra money from fees as the advisor space has been expanding while companies that are broker-only have been contracting as hybrids have become the norm.

Will the new CEO go with the flow, as in status quo, or will the new chief start barking loudly about his or her own new pet projects?

3. What concessions will Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby get (if any) to bring the SEC back up to its full slate of five commissioners?

The SEC is down to three with the departures of Republican Gallagher and Democrat Luis Aguilar. With input of Congressional leaders, President Obama has nominated their likely replacements, including a former Shelby staffer.

But why the Shelby delay? The committee must approve the nominations before they can be sent on to the full Senate and before they can be given SEC desks and smartphones.

What is he seeking from the White House and/or the SEC to make the nominations happen? His wish-list could have nothing to do with financial regulation. In Washington, sometimes you have to shoot a bear to hook a fish.

4. President Obama isn’t the only one with legacy on his mind. SEC Chair Mary Jo White may be thinking the same.

Her tenure ends when his does, so it will be interesting to see if she announces any major initiatives in her last year in office.

Interesting, yes. Likely no. Proposing, reviewing, taking comments on and finalizing a rule can take years.

One proposal that definitely will not surface is a fiduciary standard for broker-dealers because of pressure from the industry and opposition from the lone SEC Republican Commissioner. You can bet the farm on this or if you don’t have a farm, your 401(k) will do.

5. Watch the Congressional elections. The wealth seniors have over millennials is not just monetary. It is also electoral.

The old vote in much larger numbers than the young.

The impact is likely to be seen more in the House and Senate races than in the Presidential contest.

Social Security decreases will be off-the-table for retirees and near retirees, but could be in the offing for the next session of Congress post-2016.

Here is an issue to watch for in Congressional contests because it spans generations: student debt.

The millennials’ parents are still paying off their own debt and struggling to save for their teen-age kids’ tuitions while millennials are frustrated because they can’t buy cars and homes. 

Ted Knutson is the Washington correspondent for Financial Advisor. The views in this column are his own.