Over the years I have shared with investors the pitfalls of letting near-term political views and concerns drive long-term investment decisions. Without fail, I receive calls from concerned clients anytime there is a change in which political party fills the White House. This year I have heard a little more from clients with serious concerns about what affect President Trump’s actions may have on our economy and the financial markets. His proposed tariffs are driving the greatest concerns even in historically more nonpartisan media sources.

For investors, it is important to understand that it remains to be seen which, if any, of the proposed tariffs will stand. For the time being, the new administration is using these as geopolitical currency to negotiate objectives. While the consensus is that tariffs could add slightly to inflation, the reality is that nobody knows what impact these might have. However, abandoning a long-term investment strategy just because the future is unknown would be ill-advised for the reality is the future is always unknown.

Rest assured, geopolitics and the economic outlook most certainly do weigh into our investment strategy along with many other factors. This year has thus far been a great reminder for investors of the merits of maintaining a globally diversified, balanced portfolio as many asset classes have avoided the recent weakness we have seen in domestic stocks.

As always, I welcome your calls to discuss any concerns you have and our approach.

Glenn S. Rank, CIMA®

Certified Investment Management Analyst®

President