House Republicans stumbled in their first major attempt to reshape the U.S. government under President Donald Trump, as their long-promised health-care bill failed despite days of personal lobbying by the president and Speaker Paul Ryan. The fate of the bill could set a trajectory for the rest of Mr. Trump’s presidency. At issue is whether he can push ambitious goals through a Congress his party controls.

But, the U.S. stock market has already speculated the Affordable Care Act would pass, as well as, the legislation to cut income taxes, and the legislation to spend up to $1 Trillion on infrastructure.

Given the recent increase in equity values since the election and inauguration of President Trump, we want to caution investors to expect stock market volatility as Mr. Trump’s political agenda unfolds. Should the remainder of his legislative plan meet the same fate as the ACA bill, the downside risks of the stock market may outweigh its upside potential.

Per our previous weekly commentary dated February 23, 2017, we continue to recommend clients hold 12-18 months portfolio spending in cash or short term fixed investments. Additionally, if you have not contacted us since the 2/23/2017 Weekly Commentary,  we suggest setting up a 15 minute telephone call to re-evaluate your long term portfolio risk and asset allocation. In some cases, no changes will be needed as we are actively managing your portfolio risk. But it is our experience that being proactive in times of market uncertainty helps achieve long term success. Please contact our office at 610-868-9000 to set up a telephone appointment.