As election uncertainty sweeps markets, the pros hold steady

As election uncertainty sweeps markets, the pros hold steady

SeattlePI.com

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NEW YORK (AP) — This presidential election is clearly unlike any other, but investors might be wise to treat it just like most of the previous ones.

History shows the stock market’s performance doesn’t correlate that closely with which party controls the White House: It tends to rise following elections regardless of who wins. Because of that, many fund managers are sticking with their investment strategies and focusing on the long term — even in a year when the election's outcome could be in doubt past Election Day, and the nation is in the grip of a pandemic.

“The election is kind of noise in the short term," said Kari Montanus, senior portfolio manager at Columbia Threadneedle Investments. "It doesn’t mean you dismiss it completely,” but she said she doesn’t want “to try to position or make a bet on different outcomes.”

Most fund managers are holding stocks that they intend to hang onto for years, which means they care more about the long-term prospects for corporate profits. In that case, what ultimately happens with the coronavirus pandemic — whether and when a vaccine is widely available, for example — is much more important than who sits in the White House.

“As investors, we are focused first and foremost on the economy and on corporate earnings, because that’s what moves stock prices,” Montanus said.

Here's a look at how market professionals are viewing the upcoming election:

DOES WALL STREET CARE AT ALL ABOUT THE ELECTION?

Money managers aren’t pretending as if the election won’t have any consequences. In the short term, they’re fully expecting the big swings that swept the market in recent weeks to continue until Election Day, and perhaps beyond.

BEYOND?

A contested election is a worst-case scenario for investors. Markets...

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