In this month’s Reality Check, we revisit another sketch by Carl Richards.  If you couldn’t tell by now, I am an avid fan of his work.  If you are interested in learning more about him, please don’t hesitate to check him out at https://behaviorgap.com/.  This sketch, like most of his sketches, is driven by a specific topic; this one happens to focus on portfolio design, which also happens to be its title. 
 
As a Certified Financial Planner TM, goal-focused planning is second nature to me as it is at the center of what I do for you. It is hard not to be overwhelmed by the unsolicited advice that tends to focus on how you should invest, rather than why you should invest.  In our experience, a purposely driven plan is going to give you the best chance at achieving your goals throughout your lifetime. 

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"Investing is inherently complex and fraught with uncertainty. What's important is learning how to deal with uncertainty." - David Booth

In just a few short weeks, Americans will head to the polls to elect the next President of the United States.

While the outcome is unknown, one thing is for certain: There will be a steady stream of opinions from pundits and prognosticators about how the election will impact the stock market.  As explained in the below graph from Dimensional, investors would be well-served to avoid the temptation to make significant changes to a long-term investment plan based on upon these sorts of predictions.

Additionally, this short 4 minute video from Vanguard aids investors in shifting their focus from the short term impact of the election to focusing on the long term.  Decades of historical data tell us that presidential elections typically don't have a long-term effect on market performance.

This data does not suggest an obvious pattern of long-term stock market performance based upon which party holds the Oval Office. The key takeaway here is that over the long run, the market has provided substantial returns regardless of who controlled the executive branch.

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