About 80 percent of investors are worried about the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, according to a survey by UBS. That’s why UBS Wealth Management Americas is launching a program to help its clients navigate the uncertainty around the election. “ElectionWatch 2016” includes a series of events and reports on the race’s investment implications. The most recent report, for example, reviews the four leading contenders’ tax plans, as well as how healthcare, aerospace and defense would be affected. UBS will hold events in key cities across the U.S., featuring nationally recognized political figures and experts. “The 2016 Presidential primaries have produced many unexpected outcomes and significant uncertainty remains as we head into the conventions and general election," said Tom Naratil, president of UBS Americas and Wealth Management Americas. “By partnering with some of our country’s great political minds, UBS WMA is able to provide our clients with access to unique insights and thoughtful perspectives on what they can expect going forward.”
Don't Ignore Manufacuring, BlackRock Warns
Though U.S. stocks rebounded sharply in February and U.S. economy continues to expand, BlackRock thinks advisors should still pay attention to a recession in the manufacturing sector that began in 2015. Russ Koesterich, the head of asset allocation for BlackRock’s global allocation fund, pointed out that industrial production has contracted in 12 of the past 15 months, according to data from the Federal Reserve, and is close to the worst growth rate since 2009 at -2 percent year-over-year. Koesterich says industrial production is consistent with corporate profits, and maintaining the current stock market rally will require an improvement in manufacturing. “In the meantime,” Koesterich writes, "investors ignore the manufacturing recession at their own risk.”
Now that you're clients have retired, what is the best investment strategy for them? Finding the "Goldilocks" allocation between being too aggressive and too conservative (not too hot, and not too cold,) and putting in the time to create a spending plan, is the advice Liberty Financial advisor Craig Dunn told Alyx Arnett of Kokomo Perspective. He says the biggest threats to a comfortable retirement for clients is changing their lifestyle and spending too much too soon. If new retirees decide all of a sudden to go on lavish vacations and stop cooking at home, they're going to run out of cash quick. If that happens, that leaves them with no choice other than finding an income stream – perhaps by going back to work. "There are only two real variables in that retirement income equation. You get more income, or you spend less. When you go into retirement, you’re on a fixed income, so they only thing you can do is adjust the expense side," he said.
