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When political questions are in the headlines, especially during election seasons or times of uncertainty, one may ask what impact the party in power has on the markets. But whether the White House and Congress are in sync or divided, and regardless of which party has majority control, markets tend to be resilient. History shows that the stock market (as represented by the S&P 500 Index)1 has generally marched higher regardless of which party is in charge.

 

How Markets React When the President and Congress Represent the Same Political Party 

(D) Democrat, (R) Republican, 1937−Present

 
  Performance Following Start Date
Start End President Senate House
 1 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 10 Yr 20 Yr
1937 1939 D - Franklin D. Roosevelt D D  -34.73 -5.27 -7.47 4.37 11.12
1939 1941 D - Franklin D. Roosevelt D D -0.38 -7.37 3.71 7.18  13.38 
1941 1943 D - Franklin D. Roosevelt D D -11.59 10.11 16.81 13.25 14.66
1943 1945 D - Franklin D. Roosevelt D D 25.63 26.97 14.74 16.95 15.16
1945 1947 D - Harry S. Truman D D 36.31 9.82 10.60 17.00 14.88
1949 1951 D - Harry S. Truman D D 18.60 24.58 17.74 19.94 14.86
1951 1953 D - Harry S. Truman D D 23.97 13.21 23.76 16.08 12.06
1953 1955 R - Dwight D. Eisenhower R R -0.94 25.63 13.51 13.40 11.64
1961 1963 D - John F. Kennedy D D 26.88 12.48 13.25 8.18 8.31
1963 1965 D - Lyndon B. Johnson D D 22.76 17.14 12.37 9.91 8.30
1965 1967 D - Lyndon B. Johnson D D 12.46 7.83 4.98 1.25 7.79
1967
 1969 D - Lyndon B. Johnson D D 23.89 8.01 8.38 6.62 10.15
1977 1979 D - Jimmy Carter D D -7.19 5.41 8.09 13.80 14.54
1979 1981 D - Jimmy Carter D D 18.45 14.27 17.30 16.27 17.73
1993 1995 D - Bill Clinton D D 10.08 15.35 20.27 9.35 8.22
2003 2005 R - George W. Bush R R 28.68 14.39 12.83 7.10 9.80
2005 2007 R - George W. Bush R R 4.91 8.63 0.42 7.68  
2009 2011 D - Barack Obama D D 26.46 14.12 17.94 13.12  
2017 2019 R - Donald Trump R R 21.83 15.28 18.48    
2021 2023 D - Joe Biden D D 28.71  10.01      
Average 13.74 12.03 11.99 11.19 12.04 

Sources: Senate.gov and House.gov. Congressional sessions run two years (e.g., the House became Republican in the 2016 midterm election and served from January 2017 to January 2019).

Summary

 
  1 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 10 Yr 20 Yr
# Positive 15 18 18 18 16
# Negative 5 2 1 0 0
Total 20 20 19 18 16
% Positive 75% 90% 95% 100% 100%
% Negative 25% 10% 5% 0% 0%

How Markets React When the President and Congress Represent Different Political Parties

(D) Democrat, (R) Republican, 1947−Present

 
  Performance Following Start Date
Start End President Senate House 1 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 10 Yr 20 Yr
1947 1949 D - Harry S. Truman R R 5.63 9.70 16.56 18.29 13.65
1955 1957 R - Dwight D. Eisenhower D D 31.41 7.70 14.90 12.79 6.86
1957
 1959 R - Dwight D. Eisenhower D D -10.72 12.69 12.77 9.19 7.90
1959
 1961 R - Dwight D. Eisenhower D D 11.95 12.58 9.86 10.00 6.52
1969 1971 R - Richard Nixon D D -8.40 2.82 1.99 3.16 9.52
1971 1973 R - Richard Nixon D D 14.22 5.06 3.22 8.45 11.14
1973
 1975 R - Gerald Ford D D -14.67 -4.82 -0.18 6.71 11.32
1975 1977 R - Gerald Ford D D 37.14 16.37 14.74 14.75 14.56
1981 1983 R - Ronald Reagan R D -4.88 12.28 14.63 13.90 15.66
1983 1985 R - Ronald Reagan R D 22.46 19.63 16.40 16.13 12.69
1985 1987 R - Ronald Reagan R D 31.64 18.00 20.33 14.36 13.21
1987 1989 R - Ronald Reagan D D 5.18 17.32 15.35 15.28 11.80
1989 1991 R - George H.W. Bush D D 31.69 18.53 14.55 19.21 8.43
1991 1993 R - George H.W. Bush D D 30.47 15.62 16.59 17.45 9.14
1995 1997 D - Bill Clinton R R 37.58 31.15 28.56 12.07 9.85
1997 1999 D - Bill Clinton R R 33.36 27.58 10.70 8.42 7.68
1999 2001 D - Bill Clinton R R 21.04 -1.03 -0.57 -1.38 5.62
2001 2003 R - George W. Bush D R -11.89 -4.05 0.54 1.41 7.47
2007 2009
 R - George W. Bush D D 5.49 -5.63 -0.25 6.94  
2011 2013 D - Barack Obama D R 2.11 16.18 12.57 13.88  
2013 2015 D - Barack Obama D R 32.39 15.14 15.79 12.56  
2015 2017 D - Barack Obama R R 1.38 11.41 11.70    
2019 2021 R - Donald Trump R D 31.49 26.06      
2023 2025 D - Joe Biden D R 26.29        
Average 15.10 12.19 11.40  11.12 10.17

Summary

 
  1 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 10 Yr 20 Yr
# Positive 19 19 19 20 18
# Negative 5 4 3 1 0
Total 24 23 22 21 18
% Positive 79% 83% 86% 95% 100%
% Negative 21% 17% 14% 5% 0%

Past performance does not guarantee future results. Indices are unmanaged and not available for direct investment. Data starts on January 1 of the year following each November midterm election. Data Sources: Morningstar and Hartford Funds. 

 

Talk to your financial professional today to help make sure your portfolio is positioned correctly regardless of what happens in Washington, D.C. 

 

1 S&P 500 Index is a market capitalization-weighted price index composed of 500 widely held common stocks.

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