Mike Lambrechts

It’s quite remarkable how retail investor (at-home traders and investors) behavior helps professionals get a gauge on the market’s sentiment and health. I’ve been reading all across social media platforms about what stocks people have been trading, many of whom just got started ‘day trading’. I’ve even seen threads on sports boards for my beloved Florida State Seminoles about what stocks are the flavor of the week and how much money is being made. Self-proclaimed experts seem to be rising by the masses. As this type of activity runs rampant through the markets, it screams a signal to us to prepare for some volatility that the market is due for.

Last week, biopharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their mRNA-based vaccine candidate has demonstrated evidence of efficacy against COVID-19 in participants without prior evidence of infection. The vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 in participants in the first interim efficacy analysis. The study enrolled 43,538 participants, with 42 percent having diverse backgrounds, and no serious safety concerns have been observed. Submission for Emergency Use Authorization to the FDA is expected to occur in the third week of November.

It’s hard to believe that just four years ago, we were having strikingly similar conversations about the election and its potential effects on markets and retirement plans. Comparable to 2016, the conversation remains the same—do not allow political uncertainties to run your investments. Historically, markets have managed appropriately over the long term, no matter the political party in office. We must not allow outside influences and emotions to cloud our investment discipline.