The 2024 Elections and Your Bottom Line
The 2024 Elections and Your Bottom Line
During election years, particularly presidential election cycles, results traditionally start to come into focus after Labor Day. This is when many American voters become more engaged with the electoral process and begin considering the potential outcomes. With this in mind, I’ll often get the question: “Setting politics aside, which candidate will be best for my bottom line?”
It’s a fair question, but would you believe me if I told you that there may not be much of a difference?
The chart below shows the stock market’s historical performance since 1933 broken down by the controlling parties of the President, Senate, and House of Representatives. The highest average annual returns have come in cycles when one party is in the Executive Branch while the other party controls one or both bodies of Congress. While these findings may be interesting, it’s important to remember that past performance does not guarantee future results.1
What is the reasoning behind these correlations? Perhaps the Federal Government works best when a diverse group of ideas comes together and is able to reach a compromise, or maybe Wall Street has just learned how to better adapt to what takes place in Washington.
Many Americans are passionate about the outcome of our country’s presidential elections, but the stakes go beyond just the White House. There are 34 Senate seats, 435 seats in the House, and a wide variety of state and local issues on the ballot in 2024. Our citizens’ right to vote is one of the pillars that this country was founded upon, so I am sure many of you are paying close attention to these races as you prepare to make choices about our nation’s future.
With every financial strategy that we help develop, we consider both major and minor political events, and help our clients prepare for periods of increased volatility. As a result, no matter the outcome, we encourage you to remain focused on your personal investing goals and try to avoid overreacting to short-term market volatility that we may encounter.
If you would like to revisit your financial strategy this election season or have questions about how your portfolio may be affected, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your advisor.
1BairdWealth.com, 2024. For the period 1933 to 2023, excluding 2001-2002 due to Senator Jeffords changing parties mid-2001.
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Disclosures: Please remember that past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by Concord Wealth Partners, or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this newsletter will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this newsletter serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Concord Wealth Partners. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to his/her individual situation, he/she is encouraged to consult with the professional advisor of his/her choosing. Concord Wealth Partners is neither a law firm, nor a certified public accounting firm, and no portion of the newsletter content should be construed as legal or accounting advice. A copy of Concord Wealth Partners’ current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request or on our website. Please Note: If you are a Concord Wealth Partners client, please remember to contact Concord Wealth Partners, in writing, if there are any changes in your personal/financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing, evaluating, and/or revising our previous recommendations and/or services, or if you would like to impose, add, or to modify any reasonable restrictions to our investment advisory services. Concord Wealth Partners shall continue to rely on the accuracy of information that you have provided. Please Note: If you are a Concord Wealth Partners client, please advise us if you have not been receiving account statements (at least quarterly) from the account custodian.
