November 2020
Market Update

Election day is finally here. Regardless of your political persuasion, I think there is something we can all agree on: 2020 will go down in history as a year of extremes.

From economic growth … coming off the worst quarter in history, the U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace ever in the third quarter, clocking an annualized 33.1% growth rate.

To unemployment … continued unemployment claims dropped below 800,000 for the first time since the pandemic began in March. While that is progress, it still makes 33 straight weeks with first-time claims exceeding 600,000. For perspective, the worst week following the 2008 Financial Crisis was 660,000 claims and it happened only once. Currently we have 23.1 million people receiving some form of federal unemployment benefit.

To the amount of government stimulus … over $3.5 Trillion injected by the Federal Reserve (most of that in the first six weeks of the pandemic) and another $2.4 Trillion out of the CARES Act in the form of supplemental unemployment, direct stimulus checks, and small business assistance.

To the election … current estimates indicate that the presidential election alone will account for $6.6 Billion in spending, more than twice the amount that was spent during the 2016 election. More than 80 million people have already voted and, probably not surprisingly, this is anticipated to be the highest voter turnout in history.

And then there is the pandemic itself, as we approach almost 1 million lives lost around the globe and, unfortunately, cases on the rise particularly in Europe where France and the UK recently announced shut-downs once again as the virus appears to be out of control there.

Just a few things to cause stress and anxiety! However….

• While it may not be Election night, we will know who is President of the United States before too long.

• We are expecting imminent announcements from the pharmaceutical companies currently in Phase 3 clinical trials on a vaccine for the virus.

• We anticipate a second round of stimulus regardless of who wins the White House – it is just a matter of size and benefactors.

• And while infection rates are rising around the world – the death rate is not, indicating that many infected are younger and better able to survive the virus – and that we have learned much from the early days of this crisis that allows us to now more effectively manage treatment of people who are sick.

There are many reasons to find hope in spite of the chaos.

In your portfolios here, we remain fully invested in our bond portfolios, but have exited some of the stocks within various models as the volatility triggered those signals. As always, if you cannot sleep at night, you need to talk to us about your risk level so we can make adjustments accordingly – but before you do that, you may want to take a look at this month’s Graph of the Month for some reassurance.

And finally, we will be conducting our second “Zoom-inar” on November 17th, following the election to talk about the results of the election and the implications for the next year. Mark your calendars now and we will be sending out further communication as we get closer to that date.

It is, improbably, already November, so we would like to take some time to wish you and your family a safe and happy Thanksgiving. 2020 and all that we have experienced this year has heightened our awareness of the importance of family and friends, and the time we spend with them.

If you have questions, please contact us.

FINANCIAL PLANNING
COLLEGE AND TAX PLANNING
401(k) ALLOCATION
GRAPHIC OF THE MONTH

To download the November 2020 Newsletter: CLICK HERE