Our featured article of the month, Election 2024, attempts to provide some context over a hotly debated election and foresight on future expectations as it relates to the economy and investments. Elections and investment markets can become very emotional at various points in time. However, in both cases life moves on, things calm down and in the case of investment markets, certainty is what it prefers. When uncertainty is present, markets get jittery as it becomes difficult to forecast the future. Taking a step back to see a higher level view can be quite beneficial.
As can be viewed in the chart, GDP growth metrics vary over time and administration, but have trended up throughout history. Many factors can determine what results are achieved and usually no one factor or administration can accurately predict the outcome. Therefore, as this pertains to your investments, being conscious of your investment asset allocation and its effects on your personal financial plan is the key to your personal success and piece of mind.
One of the more contentious elections in recent years has ended with Donald Trump elected to the first nonconsecutive presidential term since Grover Cleveland in 1892.1
Similarly, the Republican Party took control of the Senate, while we may not immediately know what party controls the House as the vote count continues.
As you might expect, reactions to these results are varied. It’s safe to say that there may be some market volatility ahead as the nation prepares for the coming transition. You may have many questions about what might happen next.
In the table below, you can see the gross domestic product (GDP) has fluctuated depending on the occupant of the White House, but it has generally trended higher over the long term. The same can be said about inflation, as shown by the Personal Consumption Expenditure price index. It has fluctuated over time but has stayed in a range over the long term.
Elections can be consequential, but your investment strategy is built to take the world as it comes and through all sorts of circumstances. Over the course of your life, the people in power will come and go, policies and even laws may change, but your financial life must take it all on.
In the end, though, as we see above, you likely care more about the election results than the markets do.
This is why I am here to answer your questions, big and small, about what the next few years might mean for you and help you understand what this means for your financial landscape. As always, I welcome the opportunity to help you look at the big picture.
This material was developed and produced by FMG Suite to provide information on a topic that may be of interest. FMG Suite is not affiliated with the named broker-dealer, state- or SEC-registered investment advisory firm.