Historically, market volatility begins to rise about 45 days ahead, or roughly three weeks into September, before peaking one week before the election.

In instances where control of the White House changes parties, stock market volatility tends to increase.

During an election year, U.S. stocks and bonds tend to perform better compared to the year after.

Interestingly, there has been very little difference in the performance of the economy under Democratic and Republican presidents since 1977. According to recent analysis by Deutsche Bank, The average growth rate for a Democrat president is 2.9% compared to 2.7% for a Republican president.

However, it is acknowledged that the economic performance during a presidents term isnt necessarily a direct result of the actions of their administration, as presidents ultimately inherit an economy shaped by their predecessors actions, as well as other structural factors.

What may be a more important consideration for investors than who is elected president are the longer-term drivers of economic growth and corporate profits, which are shaped by policy, but also other factors outside Washington.

Although its speculative to try and predict the outcome of the election and all of the policy implications each party would impose, the result of the election is likely to influence key industries. Among the sectors of the market that could be affected in different ways are health care, energy and technology depending on the results of the election.

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Commentary: Will the election impact markets and investments? - nwitimes.com