Retail investors have been sitting on the sidelines as they await some kind of resolution to the country's fiscal problems, but it won't take much to get them back into the market, TD Ameritrade CEO Fred Tomczyk, told CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Friday.
"The retail investor and many businessmen are looking for leadership in Washington and they want to see some direction on the economy," the TD Ameritrade CEO said. "Companies are flush with cash and you have retail investors all in riskless assets so everybody's waiting to see where this is going to go."
With so much money on the sidelines, the bar is pretty low to getting retail investors to come back into the market, Tomczyk said.
If there's more certainty, "I'm pretty confident we're going to see the retail investor come back."
In general, He believes the market is looking for a credible debt plan that "helps in the short term but in the long run deals with the fiscal deficit." (Read More: Could Housing Be the Antidote to the 'Fiscal Cliff'?)
While the politicians continue to grapple with a deal on the looming "fiscal cliff," when about $600 billion in spending cuts and tax increases hit at the end of the year, TD Ameritrade is taking a wait-and-see approach with its business.
"We're staying very focused on organic growth, biding our time, keeping our balance sheet strong, being ready to move either when whatever is going to happen happens," Tomczyk said.
