It is not hard to be swept up in commentary and discussion regarding the upcoming US Presidential election.  It is a point of discussion in some of my client review meetings and a discussion at social gatherings and get togethers.  But what should we as investors be doing?  Plow into shares expecting the"right" candidate to win?  Pull everything out fearing the "wrong" canditate will win?  Hold off from investment decisions until the outcome becomes clear?

A fund manager we use to build client portfolios, Dimensional Fund Advisors, have put together a concise summary of the short and long term trading outcomes around and after Presidential elections held since 1926.  The clear conclusion is that there has been no evidence that one side of US politics or the other has been good or bad for investor returns either in the short or long term. 

Yes it might be different this time but we at At A Clear Direction think history provides a pretty good guide for sound portfolio construction and management.  We therefore remain of the opinion that is in an investor's interest to stick to their long term plan and try to put to one side all of the noise regarding the November election.

Regards,

Scott Keefer