Ahead of U.S. election, financial advisors say public debt is top concern

Many investors worry about how the outcome of the presidential election will impact their investments.

But there’s another risk financial advisors are focused on — public debt, according to a new survey from Natixis Investment Managers.

Most U.S. advisors — 68% — rank public debt as the top economic risk, while 64% of advisors worldwide said the same, according to the survey of 2,700 respondents in 20 countries, including 300 in the U.S.

“No matter who wins the election, they’re convinced public debt is going to continue to go up,” said Dave Goodsell, executive director of the Natixis Center for Investor Insight.

The term public debt is used interchangeably by the U.S. Treasury with national debt and federal debt.

The government has borrowed to pay expenses over time, comparable to how an individual might use a credit card and not pay off the full balance each month. The U.S. national debt is now more than $35 trillion and growing.

The next U.S. president and Congress will inherit that government spending dilemma, as well as looming trust fund depletion dates for Social Security and Medicare.

More individuals now believe they are on their own when it comes to funding their retirements, the Natixis survey have shown, according to Goodsell.

Experts say there are certain moves individual investors can make to limit the financial exposure they have to those broader risks.

“You cannot control what Congress is doing, but you can control how you plan, how you save, invest and react to the news,” said Marguerita Cheng, a certified financial planner and CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Cheng is also a member of the CNBC FA Council.

To help protect against volatility risks and avoid chasing returns or trying to time the market, it helps to stay appropriately diversified.

“Right now, in particular, you need some sort of risk offset in your portfolio, something that is non-correlated to stocks,” Goodsell said.

As the equity market has reached new all-time highs, investors have ratcheted up their expectations for higher returns.

The Natixis research found that investors expect returns of 15.6% above inflation, while financial professionals say about 7.1% above inflation is more realistic, Goodsell said.

Bonds can offer an opportunity to mitigate stock risks, he said.

To diversify, investors may consider both U.S. and international bonds, said Barry Glassman, a certified financial planner and the founder and president of Glassman Wealth Services. Bonds that have longer duration tend to come with more risks. Glassman is also a member of the CNBC FA Council.

For investors who worry the country’s debt may lead to slow growth, it can help to add international exposure to a portfolio, Cheng said.

Higher national debt means taxes may also likely go up.

“We can’t forecast what tax rates will be in the future,” Cheng said.

Having money in a mix of tax-deferred, tax free and taxable accounts can be helpful, because it gives investors flexibility to limit their taxable withdrawals.

Roth individual retirement accounts and 401(k) plans allow savers invest post-tax money toward retirement. Taking advantage of other kinds of accounts — 529 college savings plans or health savings accounts for medical expenses — may provide tax advantages for money spent on qualified expenses.

While the U.S. national debt is high, consumer debts have also been climbing.

“The sheer amount of debt that is outstanding that is charging more than 10% per year is shocking,” Glassman said.

To help keep those balances in check, and how much they cost, it helps to have good credit, Cheng said.

Consumers can help reduce the cost of their debts by paying their bills on time, which then lets them borrow money at better interest rates on everything from cars to homes, and can even help to reduce car insurance costs, she said.