Long-Term Investors Shouldn't Fear The 2016 U.S. Election

With each passing week, it’s looking more and more like the 2016 U.S. presidential election is going to come down to Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump. Both candidates have plenty of enthusiastic supporters, but each also has plenty of Americans terrified of their potential presidencies.

For investors worried that Clinton’s plan to raise capital gains taxes and/or Trump’s plan to deport 6.8 million illegal immigrant workers will drive the U.S. economy into the ground, financial advisors have a bit of advice for you: Take a deep breath. Everything will be ok.

“Typically speaking, presidents don’t move the market,” Ameriprise Financial advisor Betsy Billard said.

“The Fed controls monetary policy. A president doesn’t move interest rates.”

Related Link: Study: Trump's Immigrant Deportation Plan Could Cost Economy $600 Billion

Wells Fargo Investment Institute strategist Paul Christopher agrees, adding that Wells Fargo advises that clients “stay with what can be predicted, and that is that the economy should improve by the end of the year.”

With the election still more than five months away, financial advisors are already beginning to get calls from nervous clients wanting to sell stocks in favor of cash or gold.

First of all, investors should remember that candidate promises rarely result in residential action. For example, Reuters reports that President Obama followed through on less than 7.0 percent of his campaign promises.

Secondly, if you have a solid, diversified, long-term investment plan, any short-term market movement surrounding the election should not even be on your radar.

Christopher predicts that the S&P 500 will finish 2016 up 9.6 percent on the year, another reason why nervous investors in index funds like the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY) should stay calm and stay the course.

Disclosure: The author holds no position in the stocks mentioned.