Election Day: What Will Your Stock Portfolio Do?

Today, many people are heading to the polls, determined to cast their vote for the person they feel is most likely to be the best leader in these times. And, depending on what is important to them, some are voting with their wallets -- or their stock portfolios.

I'm thinking that I'll be visiting my Inner8 portfolio a little later to adjust how I feel about some stocks. This is because a victory today could mean different performances for individual stocks later. This is because policies enacted by Barack Obama may favor different stocks than those that might be favored under an administration headed by John McCain.

Obama stocks: Alternative energy

I think that alternative energy stocks would get a boost with an Obama victory. McCain has talked up alternative energy, but I do not think that alternatives like sun power and wind power would see as much success under McCain. McCain tends to favor nuclear, so utilities that make use of nuclear power, and companies that supply the nuclear power industry, might gain under McCain. But I expect to see a boost for solar (SunPower, for example), wind and even some biofuels if Obama wins tonight.

McCain stocks: Defense stocks

With McCain, I expect to see a gain for defense stocks. Stocks like General Dynamics are likely to benefit from a president that has supported the War in Iraq and is against a timetable for troop drawdowns. And, as mentioned above, it is likely that nuclear power would get a boost.

I'm not sure that either plan for capital gains taxes would make much of a difference. Despite assertions that higher capital gains hurts investment, there hasn't been a lot of proof of that. In any case, the savvy investor can make money in the stock market no matter who happens to be in the White House.

The important thing to remember, though, is that you need to figure out what will work best for you and get to the voting booth.