#142 - How Do Financial Markets React To Presidential Election Cycles?
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The 2016 Election in the United States is being hailed as one of the WORST campaigns in American history. It’s pretty bad but historically it’s actually not the worst that has happened. The election of 1828 between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson was truly vicious and I for one am thankful that we’ve come a long way from those days. But in every Presidential election cycle, the financial markets are impacted no matter if it’s a good campaign or an ugly one. On this episode, I want to walk you through some of the statistics of how the financial markets react during Presidential election cycles. America’s practice of peaceful transition of power enables a healthier economy. 

In the U.S. we often take for granted this thing we call a “peaceful transfer of power.” But we shouldn’t. The absence of coups and hostile revolutions has enabled our country to maintain a fairly healthy economy over time due to the consistency that the peaceful transition provides the financial markets. On this episode, we’re going to think together a bit about what happens to the financial markets during a Presidential election cycle so that we can identify the upturns and downturns and do what we can to insulate our investments and finances from the down times. Did you know that financial stress can make you feel older? 

It seems like common sense but it’s recently been shown that worrying about the financial markets puts a stress-load on your body which in turn causes you to age faster. Sometimes you can look in the mirror to see the evidence (more wrinkles, more gray hair), but other times you notice it in how you feel physically. On this episode, I want to give you 3 strategies for insulating yourself from the ups and downs of the financial markets so that you can live more of a stress-free life. If you want to insulate your finances from market volatility, here are some tips for you. 

It may not seem like rocket science, and I guess it isn’t, but by having an emergency fund in place you can take a HUGE step toward alleviating the stress that comes from the ups and downs of the financial markets. A well-funded emergency account enables you to stop worrying about whether the car or water heater breaks down because you know that you’ve saved up the cash to take care of those kinds of things. That fund alone will keep you from derailing your carefully crafted plan for income and expenses and investments. You can hear a couple of other ideas for insulating yourself from volatility, on this episode. There will always be financial ups and downs. Should they dictate your happiness? 

One of the realities of life is that the financial markets will always be volatile. The markets are like the waves of the sea - driven and tossed by any number of things. It’s just how life is. But you and I can take steps to insulate ourselves from those variables so that we don’t have to bear the weight of stress that can come from not having a good, solid strategy in place. On this episode, I’m going to walk you through what typically happens to the markets during a Presidential election cycle and give you some approaches you can adopt to make sure you don’t suffer because of any ups and downs that may come. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN 

• [0:34] My thoughts about our current election and some thoughts from what I’ve read this week.
• [1:26] The election of 1828 between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? SEGMENT 

• [5:23] What is a peaceful transfer of power?
• [6:17] The U.S. holds the record for the longest running peaceful transfer of power.
• [6:53] How this practice impacts financial planning.

HOT TOPIC SEGMENT 

• [8:30] How financial stress can make you older.

PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT 

• [12:04] What can you do to insulate your investments from market downturns?
• [14:42] The reality of market turmoil and the need for insulating your finances.
• [15:09] How do markets react during an election cycle?
• [17:50] What happens internationally during U.S. election cycles?
• [19:07] What happens in emerging markets during U.S. Presidential election cycles?

TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT 

• [23:23] Look at your taxable investment assets and identify your realized gains for the year so you can offset gains if you need to do so.

THE HAPPY LAB SEGMENT 

• [26:46] How we do some fun things for Halloween and my remote control fart machine.
• [29:40] Why it’s good to be goofy as you grow older.

 RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE 

Market Watch article on financial stress and aging:  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stress-about-money-can-make-you-look-older-2016-10-24)

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