2024 is an election year…

2024 is going to be a noisy year for investors but one line that will undoubtedly be thrown out will be the expected performance of the S&P in an election year.

The chart below is taken from Forbes and shows the growth in the S&P 500 going all the way back to "Silent Cal". President Calvin Coolidge was known for his simplicity and thriftiness. He was also a man of few words and one story goes that a lady at a dinner party bet she could get him to say more than two words. His response "You lose!"

In the last 100 years, every president who averted a recession during this period was reelected. Only one, you guessed it, Calvin Coolidge, went on to win reelection when there was a recession in the two years leading up to the election.

Predictions about future market gyrations is a fools errand in any normal year but tying it to a signal from a certain party/candidate winning an election is tenuous. The chart shows the power of compounding and staying invested regardless of your political affiliations.

So what should savvy investors do?

🎧 Tune out the noise - the media are ready to have a field day this year, especially with Mr Trump in line for the Republican ticket.

📈 Perspective - remind yourself of the chart below in that over the longer term, the short term noise won't matter.

Try to channel one's inner Silent Cal and stay the course.