Fisher Investments' "Three Things You Need to Know"

Transcript

Don Gaston:

Hello and welcome to Fisher Investments. Three Things You Need to Know A new weekly segment designed to help investors worldwide sift through the noise across financial media and understand what really matters for markets. My name is Don Gaston here at Fisher Investments, and here are three things you need to know this week.

First up, US election results before we dive in, a reminder that at Fisher Investments, we look at politics from a nonpartisan lens. Our sole focus is how political developments may impact the markets. Donald Trump will become America's 47th president, marking a historic comeback by winning a nonconsecutive term. Investors may be curious about how this may impact the economy and, more importantly, their wallets. On November 6th, our founder and co-chief investment officer Ken Fisher, appeared on Fox Business Varney and Company to share his insights on what this could mean for the markets.

You can find a link to the full length interview in the description below. As he shares. Knowing who is in the white House reduces uncertainty, a positive for markets. Historically, the stock market also tends to perform well after an election. As long as we're not already in a bear market or recession. Congressional results are another opportunity for following uncertainty.

The Senate will change hands, and Republicans may take a slim leadership position in the House, but not by a huge margin. Plus, the degree of intraparty gridlock isn't yet clear, which means the chance of major legislative change passing quickly and easily is likely stymied. More good news for stocks. More good news for long term investors.

Now let's talk US inflation. It's no secret that prices have climbed since the pandemic. And we all feel it, whether at the gas pump or the grocery store. However, the rate at which prices are rising has slowed substantially over the past few years and has slowed since the spike we saw after Covid. We're keeping an eye on the new consumer inflation report coming out this Wednesday. But remember, don't be alarmed by just one month's numbers.

It's the long term trends that matter. Inflation has been cooling over the past six months, and that's expected to continue with global supply chain steadying and cautious money supply growth. Remember, while inflation can be daunting, the economy and the markets have a way of adjusting and moving forward. So for now, however, this next consumer inflation reading plays out. We'd encourage you to sit back and enjoy this bull market.

Finally, let's touch on gold. Gold is often discussed in parallel to inflation, and there's certainly been a lot of buzz about gold recently. While it's done well this year, gold is an investment can be tricky. Like many other commodities, its price is determined by difficult to predict supply and demand patterns. While some see gold as a safe bet against market swings or as an inflation hedge, it's important to remember that in the long term, both stocks and bonds have tended to offer better returns, with fewer ups and downs.

Since the US effectively ended the Bretton Woods system in 1971. Over that time, gold saw some significant but fairly brief periods of outperformance. It also experienced long stretches of underperformance. Investing in gold can be a gamble, and timing the gold market is a challenge, especially for long term investors. That's all for this episode of three Things You Need to Know this Week.

For more market commentary, check out our other series, This Week in Review, with new episodes every Friday. You can also visit Fisher Investments.com for more insights. Thanks for watching and don't forget to subscribe!