This Most Important Election is So Different

A&I Wealth Management > Periscope Newsletter > This Most Important Election is So Different

Read this week’s Periscope for more specific commentary about this year’s election cycle—one week before election day.

If you read last week’s Periscope, Investing Before the Biggest Most Important Election of Our Lives, you’ll recall I expressed a feeling that I’ve heard from several close friends of mine: “I cannot keep myself safe!” We are attacked on all sides: by Covid 19, by wildfires here in Colorado and the West, and by the elections everywhere, every night, almost all the time.


Every Four Years…
Every four years, we say, “this time it’s different.” I cannot imagine a time when the hyperbole has been worse than this year.
Take a breath. Think it through.

Do you have a financial plan? Will you faithfully act on that? Can you control these things—the ones that mean the most to you and your success? Namely your spending, your income, your financial goals, your legacy wishes.

Yes, most certainly, is the answer for most of us to most or all of the factors that mean the most to our real-life financial success. But these are not the questions that people are asking. We are told we need to ask questions about things outside of our control:

Will taxes go up if so-and-so? Will we have a war if so-and-so? Will we have hyperinflation? Will we have deflation? Will everyone immigrate into or emigrate from the USA?

History shows that the political party in power is not a significant differentiator or driver of investment returns. There are simply too many other factors, variables, and events that impact markets and asset prices over time, beyond election outcomes.

Read more in our Third Quarter 2020 Investment Commentary

 

Think of This Year as a Gift
Truth be told, this year brings many gifts. We will survive the election. We will remember what is most important to us. We will have had the time to think what is actually important to us. We can take the time, now, to dream about the days, months and years ahead of us. We’ll receive, in return, the gift of perspective.

Soon, this “garbage dumpster fire of a year” (thank you, Kate Avallone) will come roaring to a stop. Someday, we’ll be able to venture out and spend our pent up energy. Our last plague ended in 1919, and then, in the Roaring 20’s, Americans went out and spent money. The economy soared. Equity markets delivered a spectacular performance.

I believe that once the dust settles on Covid 19, we will experience a new Roaring ‘20s! (Even if they begin in 2021. Or 2022).

Timely Investments, Timeless Truths
Our investment philosophy, albeit lengthy, is built for changing times. Ask your financial advisor for a copy of it.

READ MORE about our investment philosophy.

We will continue to lean on our key research partners to find investments and investment managers who give us the best chance at success. They will disagree with each other, and we will do the hard work of making sense of the chaos. We’ll remain humble, and thankful for their opinions. Then we’ll talk with each other, and take appropriate action. This is part of what we do.

For you, our clients, we will make decisions in alignment with your real-life, long-term goals. We’ll focus on what means the most to you and your family.

Read more in our Third Quarter 2020 Investment Commentary

With the help of our expert team, we’ll perform advanced financial planning that puts you in the driver’s seat.

Parting Thought
There are always reasons not to invest. In 1970, Vietnam War protests were escalating, the US invaded Cambodia and our economy was in a recession. Yet, had you the courage to invest just $10,000 that year it would be worth more than $1.5 million at the end of 2019. (1)

If you would like the latest Nick Murray article please email us at [email protected]

Source:
(1) Hartford Funds – There Are Always Reasons Not to Invest

About the author

Karl Frank, Certified Financial Planner ®, MSF, MBA, MA, is the President of A&I Financial Services LLC, a local business that specializes in wealth management, insurance planning, and retirement planning. Karl cares for business owners and the businesses that care for them. Learn More about Karl.