How will the election impact your long-term investments? Will the election impact your long-term investments? Everyone is reading the headlines that are written for shock, awe, and impact and taking them as the gospel truth. Doing so can harm your investments. You need a long-term perspective on the stock market. Listen to this episode of Best in Wealth to hear how I think the election will impact your investments—and why you shouldn’t do anything about it.

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Outline of This Episode

• [1:13] No one has a long-term outlook
• [4:33] The two questions I get asked
• [7:42] It doesn’t matter who is in office
• [10:51] The annualized market returns for 9 presidents
• [15:43] Why you should embrace a long-term outlook

What should you do if either president is elected?

Most of the questions I’ve gotten recently about the stock market have to do with the election. They're one of two questions:

• What should I do with my investments if Biden is elected?
• What should I do with my investments if Trump gets reelected?

I want to start by saying that the market does get volatile around election season because the market hates uncertainty. People make their trades based on millions of opinions. But if you check out the graph linked below, it separates each president from 1929 to 2020 and shows what their stock market returns looked like.

There were 8 Republican presidents and 7 Democratic presidents during this time period. No matter who was president, the growth of your money has gone up in the long-run. There have been recessions, but the market always corrects itself. Keeping your money in the market is good for your long-term success.

There is NO discernible conclusion

Based on the information presented, it’s challenging to draw any conclusion. The market does just as well when a Democrat is in office versus when a Republican is in office. There is no discernible pattern between the two.

We as investors want to see a connection so we can conclude what will happen in the stock market. But the reality is that there are so many different factors that impact the stock market beyond who is president. Investors want to simplify things to one driving factor, but that’s possible.

What about oil prices? Interest rates? How will other countries impact the market? What about the pandemic? What if we go to war? Any of these things—and thousands more—can influence the stock market. They impact stock prices every single day. That’s not to say that the president can’t have an impact on the stock market and the economy. But there are so many other factors at play.

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What the annualized market returns tell us

What do the annualized market returns (of the S&P 500) for the last 9 presidents show us?

• Richard Nixon: annualized return of -2.9%
• Gerald Ford (Republican): annualized return of 20.2%
• Jimmy Carter (Democrat): annualized return of 11.7% per year
• Ronald Reagan (Republican): annualized return of 15.8% per year
• George Bush (Republican): annualized return of 13.9% per year
• Bill Clinton (Democrat): annualized return of 17.6% per year
• George W. Bush (Republican): annualized return of -4.4% per year
• Barack Obama (Democrat): annualized return of 16% per year
• Donald Trump (Republican) = based on my research, his approximate annualized rate of return was 8.25% per year

This is why it’s hard to predict what will happen in the stock market. Other than a couple of years likely influenced by recessions, the returns between Republicans and Democrats is indiscernible. There is NO pattern.

The bottom line? Embrace a long-term outlook

I advise you to put aside political views when it comes to your long-term investments. Doing so gives you the greatest chance of success. I’m not saying it will be easy, but it is wise as a family steward. People are still going to work and innovate and make discoveries. Shareholders and companies are investing in growing their businesses regardless of who is in the white house. Your job is to make sure you’re well-diversified in all areas of the stock market and stay invested.

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Resources Mentioned

• The Impact of Presidencies 

Connect With Scott Wellens

• Schedule a discovery call with Scott
• Send a message to Scott
• Visit Fortress Planning Group
• Connect with Scott on LinkedIn
• Follow Scott on Twitter
• Fortress Planning Group on Facebook

 

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Podcast Disclaimer:

The Best In Wealth Podcast is hosted by Scott Wellens. Scott Wellens is the principal at Fortress Planning Group. Fortress Planning Group is a registered investment advisory firm regulated by the Securities Act of Wisconsin in accordance and compliance with securities laws and regulations. Fortress Planning Group does not render or offer to render personalized investment or tax advice through the Best In Wealth Podcast. The information provided is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, investment or legal advice.