There are many things that don’t mix well – orange juice and toothpaste, water and a keyboard, flies and Chardonnay. But there’s one thing that never, ever mixes well – investing and elections. This is because politics matter far less to reaching our goals than the investing, saving and planning decisions we make when crafting a long-term financial strategy.

Investment income is an important part of total return (price change plus investment income from dividends and interest).

Many investors have responded to record-low bond yields and a potential increase in interest rates by taking on more risk in their portfolios – or abandoning the space altogether.