Bloomberg Surveillance · Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Seema Shah of Principal Asset Management anticipates that the upcoming midterm elections will create market noise and volatility but are unlikely to fundamentally alter existing market trends. Historically, midterms reinforce underlying trends driven by fundamentals such as earnings, inflation, and rates. Shah suggests that investors should focus on these core economic factors rather than being overly concerned about the electoral outcome, unless it directly impacts these fundamentals.
“Look, historically, midterms, they create a lot of noise, create a lot of volatility within the market. But actually, what they're typically doing is just reinforcing the trend that was underway already with that trend, of course, being really being driven by fundamentals.”
“So, we may see volatility, we may see noise, we may see some headlines which create some concerns within the market. But once the midterms are over and uncertainty starts to clear up again, the market typically returns to focusing on what usually drives it. And then again, that's earnings, that's inflation, that's rates.”
“So, unless the midterms are going to be actually impacting any of those fundamental factors, it shouldn't really be something that investors are focusing on.”