January 20, 2017 – On Inauguration Day, here’s a little financial food for thought as you contemplate your own financial future and the decisions you’ll be making over the next few years.

Twelve of the last fourteen presidents served at least one full term in office (Kennedy and Ford did not).

As measured purely by the S&P 500 returns during each’s first full term in office, which presidents were the most and least economically successful?

Give up?

Here they are ranked with the percentage return from Inauguration Day to Inauguration Day shown in parentheses:

Roosevelt (206.3%)

Obama (81.4%)

Clinton (79.2%)

Eisenhower (69.5%)

George H.W. Bush (47.5%)

Reagan (38.7%)

Johnson (28.4%)

Carter (27.0%)

Nixon (12.6%)

Truman (-0.7%)

George W. Bush (-13.5%)

Hoover (-77.1%)

There are many more ways to measure economic success than the S&P 500 and, to be fair, there’s a lot more driving the engine than simply who happens to be sitting in the Oval Office when economic activity occurs.

But it’s interesting to look back, with the benefit of hindsight, to see how the market responded to different administrations.

More Financial Food

When you consider that during 27 out of the last 88 years (31%), the S&P 500 has yielded a negative annualized return, it’s worth considering where you are in life so you can choose the appropriate risk profile for your own unique situation.

Are you in your 20s or early 30s? Go ahead. Stick some money in the stock market, ride out the highs and lows for 20-40 years and you will probably be rewarded.

But if you’re within 10 years of retirement, banking your entire future on the market can lead to untold misery if your timing happens to be bad or you are living during one of the down year presidential terms.

Nobody has a crystal ball but a sensible retirement or post-settlement income strategy includes locking up some of your future with guaranteed income that fixed income or structured settlement annuities provide.

Some years are up. Some years are down. Choosing a slower, steadier upward path might not be terribly exciting. But the predictability that comes with fixed annuities can certainly make your life less stressful.