The Bird’s Eye View:
No matter how you feel about the 2020 election, it’s best to leave emotion behind when dealing with your financial future. Scott Dougan explains how he handles retirement planning in election season.
Your Guide:
Between the 2020 election and ongoing pandemic, many people are feeling tense. On this episode of Your Retirement Elevated podcast with Scott Dougan, recorded Nov. 12, 2020, we explain how to handle the uncertainty and stay calm when dealing with your financial future.
Our nation is polarized. Half the country is elated that Joe Biden appears to be headed to the White House, and the other half is upset. No matter who is the president, don’t make emotional, irrational decisions with your finances. Our nation has a system of checks and balances, and it’s not good to focus too much on one person.
“These gyrations we had in the market earlier this week, those are just blips. We need to focus on making sure our clients can have predictable, dependable income, not just for the next four years,” said Scott.
We had two prospective clients come in after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016. They were upset and fearful and said his presidency would be disastrous for the country. They asked whether they should move to all cash or invest in precious metals. We decided not to take those clients on, not because of their political beliefs but because of their fear.
“What is great about America is we want and hope for a better tomorrow, a bigger future,” said Scott. “Don’t be emotional about [elections] as much as possible. I think it’s a time to find more common ground.”
Every change gives us opportunity, and we are going to focus on how to maximize those opportunities. Look past the presidential election to a more long-term view.
“We’ve made very little changes in the way of investment policy leading up to the election,” said Scott. “There’s nothing to be knee jerk about.”
Could we make some investment changes moving forward, once we know who the president will be? Sure, that’s possible. But we need to leave the emotion behind.
Listen to the full episode. Use the timestamps below to find specific segments.
0:51 – Dealing with uncertainty
3:48 – Too much emphasis on one person
5:58 – Clients upset about election outcome
7:29 – What’s great about America
9:20 – Every change gives us opportunity
11:02 – How to define long-term
15:05 – Model good behavior
Thanks for checking out the Your Retirement Elevated Podcast. We’ll talk to you again on the next show.
Your Guide:
Scott Dougan, RFC, Investment Advisor – Contact
