Republicans and Democrats each make strong and compelling arguments as to why their approach and strategy will be better than their opponent. The media, think tanks, and experts are constantly making solid arguments for one candidate or the other. And in many cases these arguments and research findings conflict with each other.
Conventional wisdom suggests that a Republican President will do a better job helping businesses grow, which will in turn increase the return on your investments. Yet, the Democrats have released some interesting information that suggest otherwise.
Lots of research supports the idea that the stock market (and your investments) do better when the incumbent party keeps the office. And yet, there seems to be many exceptions to that statistic when one factors in market volatility or look at a wider time frame.
So how do we as investors and voters determine if it’s better to have a Democrat or Republican in the White House when everything appears to be shades of grey?
If there’s no clear research showing that one party is better for the stock market than the other, chances are there is no statistically significant correlation. In other words: The presidential election itself has little bearing on investment performance. And all of these headlines, articles and research we read pushing one candidate over the other may just be marketing fodder.
Here are a few strategies to keep in mind over the next few months:
- Expect volatility as the election draws near. The markets do not like it when there are looming questions about the future direction of the country. Most likely this volatility is short term and will clear up as investors digest the implications of one president over the other. This will be especially true if the candidates target a particular industry (such as health care or defense)
- Remember you are a long-term investor. Much of the noise and headlines will not have a long term impact on your investment future.
- Stay the course with your investment strategy. The candidates, their respective parties, think-tanks, experts, pundits and the media will try very hard to rattle your cage to sway your opinion and to get your vote. They will use fear tactics or they will paint rosy pictures of the future. And unfortunately, many investors will make poor investment choices prior to the election. They will move to cash if they are afraid or they will move into an asset class they believe will soar if their candidate wins.
- Any significant policy changes will take months to develop and potential a year to roll out.