Wealthy Americans seem to be taking Wednesday’s stock slide in stride.
I spoke with three money managers who deal mostly with very rich clients. None said they were getting panicked calls about the market’s big drop. “Noise” was a word that each of them used to describe the environment on Wall Street — and in Washington.
“Many of our clients have seen a lot of ups and downs over the years,” said Thomas Fross, co-founder of Fross & Fross Wealth Management, an investment firm in The Villages, Fla. that has mostly affluent retirees as customers.
“Headlines and the news may shape markets over a short period of time, but fundamentals do so over the long term. Earnings move the markets, not noise,” Fross added.
Fross conceded that his area of the country is one of the most Republican in the nation — and that many of his clients are conservatives who “are watching Fox News more than CNN.”
But he added that what the wealthy are backing are Trump’s proposals to lower taxes and reduce regulations. They are not necessarily endorsing him as a person or his character.
So many feel that even if Trump were to not complete a full-term in office, their investments will do just fine under Vice President Mike Pence.
“Not many of our clients like Trump as a person. So if Pence got in, they would not bat an eye. They’ll still get up in the morning and play golf,” Fross said.
Money managers in more liberal parts of the country said their high net worth customers feel the same way too.
Brendan Connaughton, chief investment officer with ClearPath Capital Partners, a San Francisco firm with many tech entrepreneurs as customers, said people he talks to are focusing on what they can control and are not worrying about politics.
“Most of our clients are tech people and a little bit nerdy. Some were nervous after Trump won. But now that the die is cast and we have who we have, good or for ill, they’re going back to work,” Connaughton said.
“I’ll occasionally get a phone call about market concerns, but for the most part our clients are zeroed in on their businesses and not on the drama from DC,” Connaughton added. “There is a lot of noise.”
Aaron Jett, vice president of global equity research at Bel Air Investment Advisors, a Los Angeles-based firm that caters exclusively to wealthy individuals and big institutions, agreed. His firm’s clients must have a minimum of $20 million in assets to invest.
“Our clients are not too concerned at this point. There is a lot of noise,” Jett said, adding that it’s safe to say that many of his firm’s customers are probably not big Trump supporters.
“We’re in California. What else do you need to know? There has been plenty of disbelief in the rally. But our clients are still making money,” he said.
If anything, rich Americans may look to take advantage of Wednesday’s volatility to find some bargains. It’s never easy to buy when the market is falling. But that’s how the affluent wind up building on their wealth. Buy low. Sell high.
“I doubt Warren Buffett is watching the news right now and saying ‘I should sell my Coca-Cola because of Trump,'” Fross said.