Apprehension about the election has many people worrying about how financial markets may be affected by the outcome. Here are some thoughts to ponder:
“Election years are not often the best times for stock market investors. Over the past 90 years shares included in the S&P 500, an index of America’s biggest firms, have returned an average of about 8.5 percent a year. The 12 months leading up to each of the 22 presidential elections in that time have been leaner affairs, returning just 6 percent…The democratic cycle, for all its virtues, tends to bring with it a dose of uncertainty – first about who will win and then about what that victor will do. And uncertainty tends to make financiers nervous.”
--The Economist, October 10, 2020
“Many investors who ask questions about the election and its market impact seem to be looking for easy answers; or a clear and consistent relationship between variable X (in this case the election) and market performance. That does not happen with consistency when comparing economic variables, sentiment conditions, earnings growth rates, valuations, etc., to market performance…and it certainly doesn’t happen with politics and the market.”
--Liz Ann Sonders, Chief Investment Strategist, Charles Schwab & Co., October 5, 2020
“What seems reasonable is to expect some lift in bond yields from their historic low levels. Just a return to normalcy, once a vaccine is developed and widely available, ought to raise yields from their preternaturally depressed levels.”
--Randall Forsyth, Columnist, Barron’s, October 23, 2020
“Politics can bring out strong emotions, but an election has not significantly changed the direction of market movements, historically.”
--Chao Ma, Global Portfolio and Investment Strategist, Wells Fargo, October 20, 2020
Possibly the most important thing investors can do is stay focused on long-term financial goals and avoid making changes based on short-term fears.
