by Tom Bradley

We woke up this morning to an undecided U.S. election. It’s probably everyone’s worst outcome and there’s a threat of lawsuits to boot. Meanwhile, the stock market is up sharply (although it may have moved in the opposite direction by the time you read this).

We don’t have an explanation for any of this and can’t add much to what you’ve already heard or read. It simply goes to show that short-term market moves are random and unpredictable. Our investment stance has not changed. As I said in a recent article, “the U.S. election is seriously overhyped when it comes to investing. It doesn’t crack my list of top fifty factors that will drive portfolio returns over the next one, three and five years.”

The next few days and weeks are likely to be accompanied by more volatility. It’s not a time to be making meaningful changes to your portfolio. Our focus is on staying well diversified across industries and geographies, with an eye on companies’ prospects over the next five years, not five days.

We recommend that you do your best to sit tight through the drama and leave the investment stress to us. Indeed, we’ve become quite adept at dealing with it this year.