2018 Angeles Investment Symposium
The Intersection of Politics & Investing

Thank you for joining the conversation on the intersection of politics & investing at the 2018 Angeles Investment Symposium. For anyone who missed it, we hope you will be able to join us next year.

Investment Symposium Overview

Angeles Symposium on the "Intersection of Politics and Investing" occurred on October 16, 2018 in Los Angeles, CA, and was attended by Angeles clients and friends of the firm. We hope to see you again next time and have included a summary of the discussion along with a video for those who weren’t able to attend in person.

The symposium began with a review by Angeles’ Chief Investment Officer Michael Rosen conducting a "tour" of past midterm election results. He noted bias against the incumbent President’s party in most prior mid-term elections, with the President’s party averaging a loss of 26 seats in the house and four seats in the senate. Importantly for investors, mid-term elections have in the past been followed by strong equity markets with positive returns following 20 of the past 21 mid-term outcomes. Recent polling showed a consensus that the likely outcome in mid-terms on November 6 would be the Democrats gaining control of the House and the Senate remaining under majority Republican rule. Michael discussed a variety of indicators of deep divide in the views on values and policies between the two parties. Most data points to political moderates becoming nearly extinct in the current environment. Michael concluded with calls from past American leaders, Abraham Lincoln and John McCain, for unity as a hallmark of the American system and a belief that balance will eventually be restored.

Following Michael’s presentation, Leslie Kautz led a panel discussion and audience Q&A with political experts Libby Cantrill, Head of Public Policy at PIMCO, a leading investment firm, and Dan Schnur, California Influencers Program Director & Professor at USC. Dan and Libby had a spirited conversation about expected election outcomes and the implications on policies and government spending ranging from healthcare to infrastructure. Both foresaw a change in House leadership resulting from the midterms, as well as potential for legislative action on infrastructure, retirement savings policy, health care, as well as potential for gridlock on the national stage, with trade tensions and the deficit potentially putting a brake on post-midterm market exhilaration. Closing remarks shined hope for the future as the youngest generation of voters matures. Turning the philanthropic community engagement of younger Americans into civic engagement as voters and political actors offers one means to bridging American’s social and political divisions.

We invite you to watch a video from the symposium. The first video is a highlight clip of the symposium, and the second video is the full presentation.

Presentation Highlights - 2:54

Full Presentation - 1:26:03

You can follow our thoughts on the conditions affecting your portfolios by visiting our Articles & Insights pages.

To download a copy of Michael Rosen's presentation, please download PDF.