Every thinking American has concerns about the election on November 3rd. Whichever Presidential candidate you support – you are worried about the future of our country if ‘the other guy’ wins. That makes perfect sense.
This election may carry the most stark policy contrast in history. I respect everyone’s right to align themselves with the party that represents their vision of America’s future. So the question on the minds of many, many people is – what should we be doing with our investments today if the ‘wrong’ party is running our country tomorrow?
It depends.
If you have a sound investment strategy designed to provide you with the financial results you need through all types of economic cycles – stay the course.
If your political concerns are causing you to lose sleep – reduce or eliminate your stock market exposure now. You may be wrong and lose some profit, but you’ll gain a bunch of sleep over the next five weeks. You can make appropriate adjustments after the election – or after the results are known – whichever comes first.
If you are confident you know both how the election will turn out and the impact that result will have on the economy and the markets – place your bets and roll your dice. To be clear, I think this is a foolish idea and should not be anyone’s choice. The first sign of insanity is the belief you can predict the future. As the great American philosopher, Yogi Berra, said, ‘Predicting is really hard – especially about the future!”
If you believe (whatever the reasons may be) that now is the time to get more conservative or to create more protected positions in your portfolio, or perhaps to create guaranteed streams of income then take steps to learn the pros and cons of:
- Fixed Annuities
- Fixed Indexed Annuities
- Variable Annuities with Guaranteed Lifetime Income Riders
- Buffered Annuities
- All the flavors of Fixed Income Assets
- Life Insurance as a Guaranteed Source of Capital
- Hedged Exchange Traded Funds
This is not intended to be a comprehensive list of your options. It is intended to alert you that there may be options for you that you haven’t yet considered or explored. Most certainly, meet with a financial advisor you trust. An advisor who has no interest in what investment approach you take – other than it’s the right one for you and your goals. Get the information you need to make an informed decision that best fits you.
Variable annuities are long-term investments suitable for retirement funding and are subject to market fluctuations and investment risk, including the possibility of loss of principal. Annuity guarantees, including guarantees associated with benefit riders are subject to the claims-paying ability of the insurance company. Surrender charges may apply if money is withdrawn before the end of the contract.