Obama McCain Stock Comparison

If you look at the companies that major contributors to the presidential candidates are connected with, stock indexes can be created for each candidate. Forbes Magazine came out with a great list of the members of the Forbes 400 that have contributed to presidential campaigns. The following spells out the stocks of each candidate, and who the contributor is. The contributors are either major shareholders or they run or have run these companies.

click to enlarge

The above graph shows the Barack Obama Stock Index and the John McCain Stock Index and compares them to the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

What is interesting is that the returns for the two presidential candidates are almost identical, with the McCain Stock Index down 21% and the Obama Stock Index down 22%. But what is most unusual is that the indices for both candidates greatly underperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was down 14% by comparison. You can draw your own conclusions.

Obama Index

These are the wealthiest contributors, and the companies they own and/or run, that have supported Obama:

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) Warren Buffett, CEO
BOK Financial Corporation (BOKF) George Kaiser, chairman
Expedia, Inc. (EXPE) Barry Diller, chairman
Fortress Investment Group (FIG) Michael Novogratz
Franklin Resources (BEN) Charles Johnson, chairman
General Growth (GGP) Matthew Bucksbaum, shareholder
Home Depot (HD) Arthur Blank, founder
IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI) Barry Diller, chairman & CEO
Loews Corporation (L) Joan Tisch, major shareholder
Qualcomm (QCOM) Irwin Jacobs, founder, chairman
Shutterfly, Inc. (SFLY) James Clark, shareholder
Stryker Corporation (SYK) Pat Stryker, major shareholder
Viacom (VIA) David Geffen, Dreamworks principal; Steven Spielberg, Dreamworks principal

McCain Index

These are the wealthiest contributors, and the companies they own and/or run, that have supported McCain:

American International Group (AIG) Maurice Greenberg
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) Charles Munger
Blackstone Group (BX) Hamilton James, Stephen Schwarzman
Broadcom (BRCM) Henry Samueli
Cablevision Systems (CVC) Charles Dolan
Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) Charles Schwab
Clearwire (CLWR) Craig McCaw
Coca Cola (KO) Herbert Allen
Comcast (CMCSA) Amos Hostetter
Ensco International Inc. (ESV) Richard Rainwater
Enterprise GP Holdings (EPE) Dan Duncan
Estée Lauder Companies (EL) Leonard Lauder
Federal Express (FDX) Frederick Smith
Fortress Investment Group (FIG) Wesley Edens
Huntsman Corporation (HUN) Jon Huntsman
IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI) Barry Diller
Liberty Media Capital (LCAPA) John Malone
Liberty Media Interactive (LINTA) John Malone
Shutterfly (SFLY) James Clark

Don't forget to check out the Sarah Palin Stock Portfolio and the Joe Biden Stock Index.

Assumptions: This is price-weighted index, similar to the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Dividends were included.

Disclosure: Author owns FDX and KO.

Comments

[sieraromero:]

If the republicans get elected then God help us all! That is just what we need. The continuation of the same failed policies and economic and political blunders that have gotten us here where we are now.Good Luck to you all!

2008 Oct 04 12:04 PM

[WAKEUP:]

Hmmm...What's up, with Sarah Palin investing in so many foreign entities: iShares MSCI Australia Index ; iShares MSCI Belgium Investable Market Index (EWK); iShares MSCI Spain Index. . . Seems odd, for such a supposedly good-old-American-girl... Austrailia, Spain, Austria. . . Maybe she's feathering nests for . . .what?

2008 Oct 04 03:39 PM

[MSmailbox:]

I'm still undecided... I was LONG McCain, to start, then I went LONG on Obama, but since Obama has been rising so quickly, I believe him to be overvalued, at this point. Being a contrarian, I sold everything that I had in Obama, on Friday. Obama could still keep rising, but I sense a bubble... I'm not ready to SHORT Obama, but I did pick up a little McCain, Friday afternoon. I intend to cautiously accumulate McCain, in the coming week... If I see a double-top in Obama's polling, I may go SHORT on Obama (this is risky, since if Obama would happen to win by a landslide, I could be wiped out!). I'll probably hold McCain, going into the week prior to the election, then pick up a small position in Obama, just to hedge myself. If things become too volitile, I may just go to cash, and sit out this election.

2008 Oct 11 05:29 PM

[MSmailbox:]

I'll bet that Obama passes out, when he reads my letter of "support." The devil made me do it, once again! (satire)

Mike Sanders 9:54PMOct 15th 2008

I am encouraged by Senator Obama's unconditional support for Israel! Too often, our federal government has tried to meddle, in the internal affairs of other nations (and our own states, for that matter!) When you offer a true gift, which comes from a pure heart, it does not come with "strings attached." I am proud to see that Senator Obama wishes to end, using our federal government resources (our tax money), to strong-arm individuals, states and other countries. As long as he writes this into our Constitution and exercises good judgement, I see no problem. Giving to Israel has always been a good cause, but Obama must realize that putting Israel first, means supporting their decisions and not using that money as either a bribe, or as extortion by threatening to withdraw it, should Israel change direction. That's what true freedom and self-less giving are all about! Let's make sure this is exactly what he intends to do, and is bound to do, before we hand over the keys to the White House, since he's our public servant and not the other way around. We will support him, for as long as he does not interfere with an individual's Constitutional rights, our State's rights, and the right of other countries to self-determination. Let's make sure that he's understands this, because I wouldn't want him to get in and then, decide to impair Liberty! :-)

2008 Oct 16 09:34 AM

[Robert Nabloid:]

HAHAHAHA, I love your comment MSmailbox!!

2008 Oct 27 08:21 PM