It’s certainly no surprise that presidential politics are on the minds of lots of people these days. But I was still a little startled when twice in recent weeks I was asked versions of essentially the same question:  What’s the outlook for the market if we get a Democrat in the White House? 

Many investors seem to think the past 10 years were a waste. Earlier this year the Wall Street Journal declared the years since 2000 “the lost decade.” That, of course, is one possible interpretation of the market’s behavior since it peaked in 2000, stumbled through a severe bear market for about three years, roared back to recovery and then fell into its current slump late in 2007. 

By Tom Cock

As published in Horizon Air Magazine

A financial adviser I know told me she was once on her knees rooting through a file cabinet of records at the home of an elderly client when she came upon some old mutual-fund statements.
“Do you still own these funds?” she asked her client and his wife.
“I’m not sure,” said the man. “We’ll have to call and find out.”
It turned out they did own the funds, which were in a couple of
long-forgotten accounts worth about $300,000.That was a lucky break for the couple. Unfortunately, some people never get their finances in order well enough to ensure that they always know what they own and that their heirs will find those assets.

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We hear the question quite often from clients and other investors. “Is this a good time to get into the market?” You might think any good financial advisor could answer that question without breaking a sweat. But the question isn’t as simple as it might seem.