Should the Most Important Election in History Influence Your Investment Strategy?

Plus, listener reflections on Ric's influence and guidance over the years

Ric Edelman:  It's Tuesday, November 5th. Well, here we are. It's Election Day. I think we're all thrilled, a little bit nervous, but relieved that we are finally here. And if nothing else, all the incessant political advertising will come to an end.

I have received a bunch of emails. Thank you so much for folks wishing us the best, based on the news I gave you on Friday.  That Jean and I are ending this podcast that we're moving on to other activities. I just want to share just a couple of emails with you. Here's, here's one from John. He's in Georgia.

John: “Hi, Ric. First of all, I would like to thank you for the information and education you have provided over all these years. For me personally, without you I would not have had any real understanding of crypto. I'm no expert, but the knowledge I have gained listening to you has been invaluable. I have also enjoyed listening to your insights into future technologies, and especially the battle against Alzheimer's disease.

So, I was saddened by your decision to stop producing this show as of December 31st. Would it be possible that you maybe just reduce the podcast to some other frequency? I'm really interested in hearing in more detail the progress that you and the team make to Alzheimer's disease detection. And your crypto advice from a source that I really trust.

Whatever you decide, I wish you and Jean all the best for the future. Thank you again.”

Ric Edelman: John, thank you so very much for your kind comments. You are going to continue hearing from me, and from Jean. We still have a lot to offer, a lot to say, a lot to share and our format, our methodology, is going to change. That is a work in progress at the moment, but we will continue to be a voice. So, stay tuned between now and the end of the year to learn more details of what it is we plan to do.

We will have additional announcements coming. What I encourage you to do right now to make sure that you stay connected with us is to make sure you're on our mailing list. There's a link in the show notes and opportunity for you to provide us your contact info so that we can contact you through e-mail or texting and whatever you prefer, so that we don't lose touch with each other. So please, I invite you to join our subscriber list, which is free, so that we can continue to stay connected after the new year.  I get that one or two of you may be disappointed that my podcast is ending, but I went through the explanation last week, partly explaining that the AI technology is frankly making these podcasts unnecessary.

I don't know if you heard the news this past weekend, but a radio station in Poland, was doing very poorly, didn't have much listenership, partly because of. of the advent of podcasting and AI technology. So, they fired all of their on-air hosts ‘cause they couldn't afford them anymore. The station didn't go off the air.

However, they instead brought in a new host that was purely AI. So now you've got AI serving as a talk show host on a radio station in Poland. And guess what? They decided to interview a Nobel prize-winning poet on the radio show. And the poet was interviewed by AI, but that wasn't the crazy part. Like, wow. AI having a conversation with a human. That wasn't the crazy part. The crazy part was that the poet that the AI was interviewing is dead. This poet died some years ago. So the AI invented a conversation between it and the deceased human. And they aired this and have gotten, as you can imagine, all kinds of pushback.

But this is kind of my point in this era. I don't really see why my continuing to do this podcast makes a whole lot of difference and frankly makes a whole lot of sense.

Let's go on to. Thompson, he's in Philly.

Thompson: “Ric, I started listening to you on WMAL radio from day one. I remember your start with John Lyon, all those many years ago. After December 31^st, are you still going to be leading DACFP? I have the CBDA designation.”

Ric Edelman: Wow. Thompson, you really do remember going all the way back. It was John Lyon who gave me my very first radio interview on WMAL. He graciously granted me a 15-minute on-air segment on a Friday afternoon. When you subtract the commercials that we were really on the air together for about eight minutes and at the end of the 15-minute block, he asked if I would stay the remaining half hour to the bottom of the hour, which I did at the bottom of the hour. He asked if I would stay the rest of the hour which I did. And at the end of the hour, John asked, would I come back? And as we went off the air, he said that I was the first person who was ever to explain these topics in a manner he understood.

He was so excited and enthused. I ended up going back on WMAL every month. I was generating, they told me more phone calls to the station than any other advice-type guests they had ever had. And after a couple of years of this, they eventually offered me my own show, which I then did for 32 years. And it all began thanks to John Lyon. So yeah, you remember that Thompson. Thank you so much for that.

Am I going next year to continue leading DACFP, the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals? Don Friedman and I created this organization back in 2015. It is a crypto education company for the financial advisory community, as well as investors and consumers.

And we created the CBDA designation, which Thompson, thank you, that you hold: Certified in Blockchain and Digital Assets. Don is going to take over DACFP as the CEO. I will remain Chair. So, I will continue to be engaged with DAC FP and working with Don on the hosting and presentation of our annual conferences and our online events, including our webinars.

And this is another reason I encourage you to join our mailing list to click on that link in the show notes so that we can continue to stay in touch with you. Because I will continue to be working very hard on crypto education and related topics through DACFP. So yes, you can be assured of that Thompson,

And our final email today from Nicholas. He's in New Jersey.

Nicholas: “I am sorry to hear you going off the air, but I get it. I found you around 2006 when going through my divorce. And through your books and podcast, you taught me a lot of what I currently know about personal finance. So much so, that I am now financially independent and try to help others as much as I can.  Best of luck with your future projects. Thank you.”

Ric Edelman: Nicholas, thank you so much. you know, it, it's not uncommon for people to thank me for them now becoming financially independent as you did, Nicholas. I'm sorry you had to experience divorce, but I am excited for you that you are financially independent, but quite frankly, I don't get the credit.

The credit goes to you, my friend. I may have provided you some information, perhaps some motivation, but all the hard work was yours. You can lead a horse to water, but if that horse ain't willing to drink, their horse is going to remain thirsty. You did it all. It was all up to you. And I'm so honored and privileged and thrilled to have been a small part of your journey. I'm really excited for you. Don't diminish your role in all this, my friend. Your success is thanks to you.

Let's move on now to Election Day. As I had mentioned to you the other day that I have received a lot of emails from people, I'd asked you to tell me, who do you think I'm going to vote for?

Having listened to the 19 podcasts covering 34 topics. And as I told you the other day, everybody was pretty split on whether I was going to vote for Trump or Harris. And everybody who said I was going to vote for Trump was angry about it. Everybody who said I was going to vote for Harris was angry about it.

I'm going to share with you two, only two emails that speak to this. Because I think it's just kind of funny. They're both named David first David in Arizona, followed by Dave in Maine. Here's the first David:

David #1: “Your election series ended with a total 100 percent cop out. Enjoy voting for Harris. I'm so disappointed in you.”

David #2: “I stopped reading your election analysis when you wrote you support Trump over Harris.”

Ric Edelman: So there you have it. Two Davids, both of them, very unhappy with me. One of them unhappy because I'm voting for Harris. The other one unhappy because I'm voting for Trump. Go figure.

What I will share with you today being Election Day. I have three predictions for today.

The first of my predictions regarding the selection of president of the United States of America is that we are not going to know who our next president is going to be today. This contest is going to be so close in so many contested states that we aren't going to know by the time you go to bed tonight, who the next president's going to be. And I don't believe we're going to know for several days, possibly for several weeks, who the next president is going to be.

And the reason for that is my second prediction. We are going to see lots of lawsuits. Both parties have already filed dozens of lawsuits across the country in states from coast to coast anticipating, election fraud, voter ballot invalidity, you name it. and these lawsuits are going to take some time to work their way through the courts. And for all those reasons, it's going to be days, maybe weeks, before we get it all sorted out.

My third prediction, and I hate to say it, I'm sorry to say it. I am not endorsing this in the least. I'm simply telling you that despite my angst and anxiety over it, I fear we're going to witness it as a result of the outcome of many of those lawsuits, some people are going to be so unhappy that we're going to experience and witness violence and not just aimed necessarily at Trump or Harris, God forbid, but at senators and congressmen. And state and local officials, including those working diligently, selflessly at our election boards. You know the situation as well as I. This is a horrific trend that we have begun to see emerge. And, it is my biggest fear. So, I do hope you vote. If you haven't yet, I hope you get there before the polls close tonight.

I'll be with you over the next days and weeks as we together discover who the leader of our nation will be for the next four years. The biggest question though has nothing to do with who I'm voting for or about my predictions of how long will it take to find out and will there be lawsuits and who will win them and what will some crazy people do as a result?

The real question here that we have to answer. The only one that matters: What are you going to do about this? How are you going to handle your investments and your investment strategy as a result of the president-elect?

We know that. both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have offered campaign platforms of massive tax cuts and massive spending. Both of them are going to increase the federal debt if they get their way. They're going to explode the size of the federal deficit. They are both offering all kinds of tax breaks to all kinds of American voters, all in an effort to woo them and win their vote.

And the question you need to ask yourself is: What's this going to do to my investments? What's going to be the impact on the stock market? My ability to retire on schedule and financial security. What I have begun to hear are some people saying that they are beginning to make plans for altering their investment strategy based on who wins. I'll tell you what I have always told investors for the past three and a half, four decades.

If you plan on living longer than four years, meaning you plan on living longer than the next president will be in office. If you're going to outlast the next commander-in-chief, I would not make any investment changes. It doesn't matter what the next president does in the next four years. You should be thinking about the next 40 years.

And I say that even if you're in your sixties. Even if you're in your sixties, odds are pretty good you're going to live 20, 30, 40 more years. Think back 20 years ago, quick, who was the president? You can't tell me. You don't know. Quick, 40 years ago, who was the president? You can't tell me. You don't know.

That's ancient history. And that's what you're going to say 20 years from now about this election. You're not going to be able to remember instantly, immediately who won in 2024. That'll be old news.

You're going to be focused on the new issues of the day, because there's going to be some new crisis. You're going to be worried that it's going to be another election of some kind that is the worst ever that, you know, what was the most important election in the U S history. They always say that.  

Here's what they said during the Kennedy-Nixon election.

John F. Kennedy: “I think in many ways, this election is more important than any since 1932, or certainly almost any in this century.”

Richard Nixon: “Perhaps, as Senator Kennedy has already indicated, the most important election in our history.”

Ric Edelman: Here's what they said in 76.

Gerald Ford: “I think this election is one of the most vital in the history of America.”

Ric Edelman: Here's what they said in 1980.

Jimmy Carter: “The most important of all choices will be made by the American people at the polls.”

Ric Edelman: Here's what they said in 1984.

Ronald Reagan: “This is the most important election in this nation in 50 years.”

Ric Edelman: Here's what they said in 1988.

Dick Gephardt: “What this election is about and why this is the most important election of our lifetime.”

Ric Edelman: Here's what they said in 1992.

Al Gore: “This is one of the most important elections in the history of the United States of America.”

Ric Edelman: Here's what they said in 1996.

Bob Dole: “There's a tendency every time it rolls around to say, well, this election, this is the watershed, this is the big one. And whether or not that's always true, I believe that the last election of the 20th century clearly belongs in that category.”

Ric Edelman: In the year 2000.

Randy Tate - Christian Coalition: “In 2000, as we go into what I think is the most important election we've had in a generation.”

Ric Edelman: Here's what they said in 2004.

John Kerry: “This is the most important election of our lifetime.”

George W. Bush: “All these choices make this one of the most important elections in our history.”

Ric Edelman: Here's what they said in 2008.

Rudy Giuliani: “2008 is the most important election in our lifetime.”

Ric Edelman: Here's what they said in 2012.

Barack Obama: “I truly believe this is the most important election of our lifetimes.”

Ric Edelman: Here's what they said in 2016.

Hillary Clinton: “There are just eight days left. And what is the most important election of our lifetime.”

Ric Edelman: Here's what they said in 2020.

Joe Biden: “The election in 2020, without hyperbole, is going to be the most important election this country has undergone in over 100 years. Not a joke.”

Ric Edelman:: And here's what they're saying again in 2024.

Kamala Harris:  “You know, every election cycle we talk about this is the most important election of our lifetime. Lawrence. This one is.”

Donald Trump: “This is the most important election in the history of our country.”

Ric Edelman: Trust me, 30 years from now, they're going to be saying it again. Do not change your investment strategy merely because of an election.

I'm Ric Edelman. Thanks for joining me.

If you like what you're hearing, be sure to follow and subscribe to the show, wherever you get your podcasts, Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and remember leave a review on Apple podcasts. I read them all. Never miss an episode of The Truth About Your Future. Follow and subscribe on your favorite podcast app.  

I'll see you tomorrow.

-----

Join our mailing list:  https://www.thetayf.com/pages/podcast

Subscribe to podcast updates: https://form.jotform.com/223614751580152 

Ask Ric: https://www.thetayf.com/pages/ask-ric 

-----  

Links from today’s show:  

Click here for Ric's worksheet to help you evaluate the candidates

The 34 Issues of Election 2024 – The Daily Podcasts https://thetayf.com/blogs/this-weeks-stories/tagged/election-2024

Kamala Harris Official Campaign Website Policy Page: https://www.kamalaharris.com/issues/

Donald Trump Official Campaign Website Policy Page: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/platform

11/13 Webinar - An Innovative Way to Generate Income in a World of Declining Rates: https://www.thetayf.com/pages/november-13-2024-an-innovative-way-to-generate-income

10/9 Webinar Replay - Crypto for RIAs: Yield, Staking, Lending and Custody. What’s beyond the ETFs? https://dacfp.com/events/crypto-for-rias-yield-staking-lending-and-custody-whats-beyond-the-etfs/

Certified in Blockchain and Digital Assets including Crypto Taxation Course/Webinar: https://dacfp.com/certification/

-----  

Follow Ric on social media:  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RicEdelman

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ric_edelman/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricedelman/

X: https://twitter.com/ricedelman

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RicEdelman

-----  

Brought to you by:  

Invesco QQQ: https://www.invesco.com/qqq-etf/en/home.html

State Street Global Advisors: https://www.ssga.com/us/en/intermediary/etfs/capabilities/spdr-core-equity-etfs/spy-sp-500/cornerstones

Schwab: https://www.schwab.com/

TAYF Disclosure page: https://www.thetayf.com/pages/sponsorship-disclosure-fee