Trump's Victory Polarizes Investors as Financial Advisers' Clients Adjust
David Edwards spoke this morning with the Wall Street Journal:
If the 2016 U.S. presidential race was a tale of two countries, its aftermath has become a tale of two investors.
Financial advisers and investment houses across the country have been besieged Wednesday by investors looking for reassurance, guidance on whether to sell or stay put and advice on how to play Republican Donald Trump's upset win over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Heron Financial Group received emails from distraught clients Tuesday night as the election unfolded and called them back as quickly as possible Wednesday. The New York advisory firm said it had received more calls than usual Wednesday morning-even more than after the U.K.'s June vote to exit from the European Union-from its clients, who are overwhelmingly Hillary Clinton supporters.
David Edwards, the firm's president, found himself consoling a tearful female client Wednesday morning.
"It certainly was a shock to the system," he says.
A few clients have asked Mr. Edwards to sell everything. For one client, he is raising $100,000 "just so he can sleep at night," Mr. Edwards said.
However, he has been able to discourage most others from selling. "You want to sell now and buy when things are better?" he's telling clients seeking to sell. "You want to sell low and buy high? My job is to prevent you from doing that!"
Mr. Edwards says he gained some insight last night: "For every one of 59 million Clinton supporters who are disappointed this morning, there are 59 million Trump supporters who are happy, and might be buying stocks today," he says. "The important advice whenever something bad happens like 9/11, like Brexit, like the financial meltdown, is to not make things worse by rushing to sell."