Nationwide survey: nearly three-quarters of Gen Z changed or considered changing portfolios

Nearly three-quarters of Gen Z investors said they had changed their portfolios ahead of the November midterm elections or were considering it, according to a survey from the Nationwide Retirement Institute. Among baby boomers, 17% said they had made or considered portfolio moves.

About 24% of Gen Z respondents said they had moved money into more conservative or lower-risk investments ahead of the election, compared with 13% of boomers. Younger investors were also far more likely to diversify into new asset classes or talk to a financial advisor about election-related risks, the survey found.

The survey was conducted in August and September by Harris Poll and polled more than 2,000 individual investors and 500 financial professionals. Across all age groups, 40% of investors said they had made changes; the generational figures count both investors who acted and those who were only considering a move.

The article quotes financial advisers and market strategists saying some of those moves may be appropriate while others raise the prospect that young investors are making emotionally driven decisions that could lead them to miss long-term market gains.

The counterweight appears in the same piece. The stock market tends to weaken in the run-up to a midterm vote and bounce back once results are certain, and the S&P 500 has delivered positive returns in the 12 months after every midterm election since 1950, whichever party won, according to Bloomberg data cited in the report. The average return across those periods is 15%, against the index's long-run average of just over 10%.

The report also sets a wider frame: the economy is the top issue for voters, with more than 8 in 10 calling it very important to their vote, according to Pew Research Center data cited in the article.

For the desk, the split itself is the useful part. A client under 30 asking about election risk in September is describing a different problem than a 65-year-old reviewing a distribution plan, and the survey suggests that first conversation is already underway in younger households. The coverage does not say whether the moves helped or hurt; it shows where the questions are being asked first.