I didn’t vote for Donald Trump, but I really can’t wait until he steps into the Oval Office.
It’s not that I suddenly find myself agreeing with whatever Donald Trump believes, although it is hard to tell what he really believes, it’s just that I think that he will bring out the best in people.
He will do that at the same time that he has shown that he can bring out the worst in people.
You can’t disagree with Hillary Clinton’s reference to “deplorables,” although you would really have to question both her estimate of how many of Trump’s supporters really did fit into that category, as well as simply questioning her judgment in making the comment, itself.
By the same token, there are clearly “deplorables” on the other side of the political spectrum and in that group I might include those who have a hard time accepting the fact that Donald Trump will be our next President.
My father used to always say that “money brings out the best in people and the worst in people.”
For years, I thought that his lack of command of English as a language caused him to use the conjunction “and” when he really meant “or.”
It was only a few years ago that I realized that he said exactly what he meant.
Money can bring out both the best and the worst in someone and I think that Donald Trump will do the same with our elected officials.
Some, unfortunately, will feel even more emboldened to act in a ridiculous manner, while others are going to realize that the only way to move the nation forward is to come to some reconciliation across the aisle.
Remember when there were actually moderates in both parties who could stand one another professionally and personally?
Donald Trump may be the enzyme that brings them back together again.
We haven’t had a coalition in national government in a long time, but that may be in our future if cooler heads prevail.
For that to be the case, a President Trump is going to have to act true to the form of his Tweets and his comments.
But in addition to perhaps making us governable again and pushing elected officials to work toward solutions, he will shake things up in markets.
Sometimes it will be bad and sometimes good, but he will push buttons in what we all know is simply a multi-player chess game coupled with a “prisoner’s dilemma” approach to decision-making.
A President Trump just won’t be as predictable as the rest of the world has become accustomed to our Presidents being.
For investors that will create many opportunities as uncertainty will likely come and go on a regular basis.
If that is the case, I expect to continue a strategy in 2017 that commits as little of my cash reserve to new positions as possible, but instead seeks to sell as many calls on positions, regardless of how far they may be from their break even point, just to accumulate more and more premiums.
I just happen to enjoy doing that and feel more free to do so now.
This week was a good example and I would be more than happy to rollover any position that is in jeopardy of being assigned at one of those too low strike prices.
Each one of those rollovers brings in more pennies and more nickels.
If we ever get to a point when volatility starts to go higher, you will really revel in rollovers.
I know that I used to and am hopeful that the same will happen again.