Dear Clients and Friends,
With the 2016 election now over, investors are naturally interested in the short and long-term impact the results may have on their portfolios. While everyone’s circumstances are different, as financial advisors, our counsel in times like these is steadfast: own a diversified portfolio of quality assets and remain focused on the long term.
Despite the best efforts of popular, well-trained prognosticators, financial markets are notoriously difficult to predict in the short term. One need look no further than the recent surprise BREXIT vote earlier this year. After a rather severe initial negative reaction, the markets quickly recovered. Similarly, following yesterday’s election result, markets initially sold off but appear to have recovered and stabilized.
Longer-term, the odds of getting the direction of the markets correct goes up significantly, as fundamentals replace emotions. Thinking long-term, however, involves focusing on equities as shares of living, breathing businesses and not just numbers on a page. On that note, we are optimistic that five and ten years from now, collectively, the businesses you hold in your portfolio will continue to innovate within the context of an expanding economy and as a result will have more earnings and dividends to share with their owners than they do today, regardless of who is in office.
Additionally, in times like these it is equally important for investors to focus on asset allocation. Taking risk is necessary to generate returns and portfolios should generally become more conservative as one’s time horizon shrinks. If investors allocate properly and maintain a long-term view of their portfolio holdings and the markets, volatility caused by surprise events is likely to be inconsequential to one’s longer-term goals.
Like many of you, we were up late last night and were in early today. We invite you to reach out to us for comments or feedback on your specific election and/or portfolio related concerns. We appreciate your ongoing trust and confidence.
Sincerely,
John Micklitsch, CFA, CAIA
Chief Investment Officer
About Ancora Holdings Inc.: Ancora Holdings, Inc. is a Cleveland, Ohio based holding company which wholly owns three separate and distinct SEC Registered Investment Advisers, Ancora Advisors, Inc., Ancora Inverness, Inc. and Safeguard Securities, Inc., which oversee assets under management in excess of $4 billion in aggregate. Ancora Advisors, LLC is an institutionally focused investment manager with dedicated equity and fixed income strategies as well as acting as the investment manager to both mutual funds and alternative investments. Ancora Inverness, LLC is a leading, regional investment and wealth advisor managing assets on behalf families and high net-worth individuals. Safeguard Securities is a dual registrant SEC Registered Investment Adviser and FINRA member broker dealer focusing on open architecture Retirement Plan Services. For more information please visit www.ancora.net.
Disclosures: The mention of specific securities, types of securities and/or investment strategies in this newsletter should not be considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation to purchase any specific securities or to implement an investment strategy. Please consult with an Ancora Investment Professional on how the purchase or sale of specific securities can be implemented to meet your particular investment objectives, goals, and risk tolerances. Past performance of these types of investments is not indicative of future results and does not guarantee dividends/interest will be paid or paid at the same rate in the future. The data presented has been obtained from sources that are believed to be accurate and credible. Ancora Advisors makes no guarantee to the complete accuracy of this information. The indices mentioned in this newsletter are market performance indices and are not available for purchase. If you were to purchase the securities that make up these indices, your returns would be lower once fees and/or commissions are deducted. Past performance of these indices is not indicative of future results of the securities contained in these indices. Ancora Advisors LLC is a registered investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States. A more detailed description of the company, its management and practices are contained in its “Firm Brochure” (Form ADV, Part 2a). A copy of this form may be received by contacting the company at: 6060 Parkland Blvd, Suite 200, Cleveland, Ohio 44124, Phone: 216-825-4000, or by visiting the website, www.ancora.net/adv