Government Shutdown Non-Event for Investors

As the US Government appears ready for a shut-down in less than 12 hours, investors couldn't be more disinterested. So far the S&P 500 index is up .02 points for the week, translating to a 0.00 percent increase. I can't remember a more boring week.

Of course it's possible that the US stock market would have surged without the threat of this shut-down. I admit, I can't explain why the stock market does what it does over any quarter, much less one week. And the market isn't closed as I write this. Still, there is some evidence that investors couldn't care less about this shut-down, as it relates to their portfolios.

That said, I hope for an end to this partisan bickering. Can't we all just get along? I think the stock market would react positively to this, though I should stick to writing about reality rather than fantasy.

Postscript - Perhaps investors cared a little, since stocks ended up slipping by the end of the day. The US stock market, as measured by the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI), closed down 0.32% for the week. A yawner if you ask me.

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Allan Roth

Allan S. Roth is the founder of Wealth Logic, an hourly based financial planning and investment advisory firm that advises clients with portfolios ranging from $10,000 to over $50 million. The author of How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street, Roth teaches investments and behavioral finance at the University of Denver and is a frequent speaker. He is required by law to note that his columns are not meant as specific investment advice, since any advice of that sort would need to take into account such things as each reader's willingness and need to take risk. His columns will specifically avoid the foolishness of predicting the next hot stock or what the stock market will do next month.

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