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Nov 06

Politics and Finances

By R. Todd Holden / Wealth Advisor

When I first entered this industry, politics rarely entered client discussions. Sure, some people didn’t like George Bush Sr. and some didn’t like Bill Clinton, but personal financial decisions were almost never based on the political landscape.

This seemed to change in 2009, and it has not gone away. Regardless of beliefs, politics has entered financial conversations in a new way.

For a while, I’ve felt that mixing politics and finances is a costly mistake. Investors who run for cover when their team is out of power cost themselves money. This chart from LPL demonstrates this more effectively than I can. Please take a look.

I like to put it this way. There is one President, one Vice President, 435 members of the House and 100 members of the Senate. They make the news in a way you and I never will.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 163.152 million people in the workforce — people who rarely make the news but simply get up every day and try to provide for themselves and their loved ones.

Regardless of who is running or ruining the government at any given moment, I am siding with the 163 million working Americans.

 

SOURCES:
https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cpseea08a.htm
https://www.history.com/articles/history-of-the-house-of-representatives
Author

R. Todd Holden

Wealth Advisor

Todd Holden is a Wealth Advisor for Northwest Financial Advisors through his affiliation with LPL Financial, the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer.* Todd provides a comprehensive range of financial and investment planning, with a particular focus in retirement income planning, tax efficiency and multi-generational wealth planning.

Todd has over 30 years of industry experience, having entered the financial services industry at Merrill Lynch in 1987. Prior to joining Northwest Financial Advisors, Todd served as the Financial Consultant for Belvoir FCU (now PenFed) and Library of Congress FCU, with many clients from those institutions following him to Northwest. Other industry experience includes time spent at MetLife and HSBC.

Over the years, lessons Todd has learned to help clients pursue financial success include:

•Listen more than you speak
•Simpler is better than complicated
•Provide value that exceeds cost
•Money is easy; families can be challenging
•Good habits produce good results (and vice versa)

Todd received his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance & Economics from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. As the son of a retired Air Force pilot and spouse of a foreign service officer, he has spent much of his life traveling the world. Todd is quite familiar with federal retirement benefits, including the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).

Todd has two grown children and one adorable grandson. When his children were younger, Todd served on their school’s parent advisory committee, built sets for the theater department and managed his son’s hockey team. He enjoys sailing, bicycling and – in keeping with his belief in lifelong learning – earned his private pilot license in September 2026.

 

*As reported in Financial Planning magazine, June 1996-2025, based on total revenue.
R. Todd Holden, Wealth Advisor

Wealth Advisor

R. Todd Holden

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