Traders work on the New York Stock Exchange floor on Dec. 18, 2024.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
For all the drama in the stock market of late, investors’ portfolio balances may not look too different from when President Donald Trump entered office.
There have been some unnerving days amid the Trump administration’s tariff policies. The S&P 500 dropped by 2% or more on six days between Jan. 20 and June 6, according to data provided to CNBC by Morningstar Direct. During that period, there were 18 days where the index shed 1% or more.
Still, the S&P 500’s annualized return for Trump’s second presidency is positive, at 1.58%, Morningstar Direct found.
With more market swings on the horizon amid threats of a worsening trade war and warning signs in the labor market, the numbers serve up an old lesson for investors: When the market is freaking out, it pays to stay calm.
“I always remind clients that volatility doesn’t predict direction,” said Cathy Curtis, the founder of Curtis Financial Planning in Oakland, California. She is a member of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council.
Bone Fide Wealth. He is also a member of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council.
saw healthy stock market returns for the full four or eight years, Mark Motley, portfolio manager at Foster & Motley in Cincinnati, wrote in a pre-election market update. The exception: President George W. Bush, due to the Great Recession.
Foster & Motley is No. 34 on the 2024 CNBC Financial Advisor 100 list.
