Financial Market Impact of Election ’08: Fidelity Independent Adviser’s Donald R. Dion and Federated Investors’ Phil Orlando Discuss

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Donald R. Dion, Jr., the president and chief investment officer of Dion Money Management, and Phil Orlando, the senior equity market strategist at Pittsburgh-based Federated Investors, delivered election analysis and portfolio strategies for both Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama in a video conference viewable at: http://www.dionmm.com/include/thm/script/thm.py/

Dion and Orlando predict that financial, healthcare and energy stocks will be impacted no matter which candidate takes office in January, and that investors should position their portfolios to take advantage of the candidate’s stances. Private enterprise has been allowed to regulate itself in a way never seen before, according to Dion, and both candidates will affect the tax regulation of companies and their dividends.

Housing market woes were spurred by “ninja” bonds, says Orlando, referring to loans made to individuals with “no income, jobs or assets.” Orlando believes that it is “critical” to understand how both candidates will tackle the issue of recession in order to make informed investment decisions. We are three years into the housing downturn, according to Orlando, and we face another year of negative returns before feeling relief.

Dion says that McCain will try to preserve tax cuts, a move that he predicts will promote the increase of dividends in the equity markets. If Obama is elected, Dion favors the industrial and tech sectors, which could benefit from clean energy initiatives. Financials, utilities, and defense could falter, claims Dion, in an Obama presidency.

Dion said that many of his clients are concerned about changes in the estate tax. The McCain administration would like to establish a $10 million exemption, says Orlando, while Obama would favor a smaller exemption of $3.5 million. Both Dion and Orlando emphasized that any proposes to current tax rates would have to be approved by congress.

About Dion Money Management: Dion Money Management is a Registered Investment Adviser counseling individuals, families and businesses. With offices in Williamstown, Massachusetts and Naples, Florida, Dion currently manages more than $680 million in assets. To view the entire video, http://www.dionmm.com/include/thm/script/thm.py/

Don Dion’s ETF Momentum Tracker newsletter had an annualized return of 26.6 percent in 2007 according to the Hulbert Financial Digest, a publication that tracks the performance of 180 financial newsletters, and it was a 2007 top-ten performer according to Peter Brimelow of CBS’s MarketWatch.com.

For more information about the Dion Money Management, please contact Donald R. Dion, Jr. at (800) 432-7447, ext. 191.