Election 2020: St. Louis money managers on what presidential election means for portfolio
(St, Louis Business Journal)
October 30,2020
Will a second term for President Donald Trump be better for your investments? Or is time for a Democratic administration under former Vice President Joe Biden? While this might seem like a good question for a team of economists, we went to some even better sources, St. Louis-area money managers, to see what they’re telling clients about election investing.
Here’s what four of them had to say:
“The markets would like to get the election behind them. It appears both candidates will do a stimulus bill post-election that should be well received by the markets. The risk is a contested election.”
– Joe Terril, Terril & Co.
“Are you ‘too far out over your skis’ with equity exposure compared to your desired exposure? Now is the perfect time to assess gains for the year and consider taking some of the profits. We are also encouraging clients not to panic and not to over-correct.”
-Ken Bower, CEO, Clayton Financial Group.
“The stock market increased, growing around 15% in each of the Obama terms, and 12% to date under Trump. The lesson here is that playing politics with your portfolio could have caused you to miss solid stock market performance under both administrations. Even during market and economic turbulence keeping a nonpartisan approach to investing helps achieve better portfolio performance over time.”
-Nela Richardson, market strategist, Edward Jones,
“If Trump wins re-election then there is most likely lower taxes, less regulation and less fiscal stimulus, while a Biden presidency should generally come with a higher degree of stimulus, higher taxes and increased regulation. Beyond that is simply the tone set by each as to the perception of their being more pro or anti-business, with Trump that is clear while it is less so with Biden. In any event, good businesses will adapt, they always do.”
-Ward Brown, trader and analyst, Argent Capital Management.
