Driving the Greatest Generation Crazy
October 17, 2016
The markets have provided absolute boredom over the last ninety days. We have seen small changes most days, with no big break outs, as the markets continue to move “sideways”. Since mid-July the S&P 500 Index has meandered in a 53 point range from 2125 to 2178. As the 80’s group, Wham reminds me, “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go”.
The market doldrums suggest investors are calm and content. However, a report from the American Psychologist Association (APA) shows that people are actually quite stressed at the moment, and the cause is the election. In fact, the report suggests this is the most stressful election ever in modern times. More than half of those surveyed by the APA stated that the 2016 election is the main source of stress in their lives. This contrasts with more normal conditions when the top two sources of worry are work and finances.
The survey of 3,500 people is divided into four demographic groups: Millennials, Generation X, Baby Boomers, and the Silent, or Mature, Generation (those over the age of 71). Much to the surprise of the psychologists, the group that is feeling the most stress over the election is the Silent Generation. Historically it is this mature group that weathers any stress storm the best. They have the benefit of the knowledge and wisdom of having seen and dealt with many diverse situations in the past. Throw anything at them and they know how to deal with it, but this time it is obviously different.
The APA felt that during this cycle the election has attracted unusual focus which is helping generate stress. Contributing factors include the extraordinary length of the election process, over a year and counting, and the efforts of the news outlets to report on every possible piece of negative information. Moreover, the overall tone of the election has been consistently unpleasant. Maybe we could cope with this if there was somewhere to hide, but the intrusive nature of the modern 24/7 news cycle has created a beast from which it is hard to escape. Do I really need to be getting an alert from the New York Times at 3 am about another juicy election rumor? If the APA study is accurate, there’s good news on the horizon – after all the election will be over soon. Perhaps then clarity can return to a market that appears to be stuck.
The report offers short term solutions for those that are fretting over the selection of our next President. Here are the four simple steps to follow: step one – stop talking and engaging with others about the election; step two – turn off your phone and TV and unplug from the flow; step three – read only what you need to stay informed; and step four – vote. By November 9th it will all be over, the skies will clear and all that stress will hopefully be gone.
Carl Gambrell
