Aw, Phooey! Stock Market's Trump-et Blues Ain't So Bad!

Trump's Term: A Few Feathers Ruffled!

Aw phooey! This market's been quackers lately! Seems like every time I turn around there's another tariff tantrum. According to some fancy pants number crunchers at Morningstar Direct the S&P 500 had a hissy fit dropping 2% or more on six days between January 20th and June 6th. And get this there were 18 whole days where it lost 1% or more! It’s enough to make ya wanna throw your sailor hat overboard!

Positive Returns? Hot Dog!

But hold on a minute! Before you start squawking like a banshee there's some good news. Even with all the hullabaloo the S&P 500's annualized return for Trump's second term is… wait for it… positive! A whopping 1.58% says Morningstar Direct. It ain't Scrooge McDuck levels of rich but it's better than nothing! And that just goes to show sometimes you gotta keep your beak shut and ride out the storm! Remember what I always say: "Tough luck tough luck!"...er wait that's what I say when Gladstone wins a pie eating contest.

Calm Down Ya Big Chicken!

Now with all this trade war talk and scary stuff in the job market it's easy to get your tail feathers in a twist. But Cathy Curtis from Curtis Financial Planning (and one of those CNBC smarty pants) says "Volatility doesn't predict direction." In other words just because the market's doing the jitterbug doesn't mean it's going to belly flop! So take a deep breath and maybe try counting to ten...or a hundred if you're me.

Biden & Obama's Big Buck$!

So how'd other presidents do? Well those guys Joe Biden and Barack Obama made bank! The S&P 500's annualized return was over 34% in Biden's first five months and around 30% during Obama's first and second terms! Hot dog! That's enough to make even Scrooge jealous! But every prez has their ups and downs.

Bush's Bumpy Ride

Speaking of downs poor old George W. Bush had a rough start. The S&P 500 had a negative annualized return of about 12% in his first term! And 23 days where it dropped 1% or more. Yikes! But Douglas Boneparth (another CNBC smarty pants) says those sharp drops show that you shouldn't "impulsive exits during turbulence!"

The Long Haul: An Unmistakable Trend

The real lesson here? It's all about the long haul! Mark Motley from Foster & Motley says that almost all presidents since Jimmy Carter saw healthy stock market returns... except for Bush's bad luck with the Great Recession. Cathy Curtis even shows clients a chart going back to 1950! If you put $1,000 in back then you'd have around $3.8 million today! "The short term dips are unmistakable but so is the overall upward trend," Curtis said. So remember folks keep your eye on the prize and don't let a few market hiccups ruin your day! Now if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go yell at my nephews for spending all my money on ice cream!