Of all the phrases that J.P. Morgan Asset Management Chief Global Strategist David Kelly heard last year, the one that annoyed him most "was when people would happily tout 'Oh, cash is king.'"
"You know cash must be an awfully modest monarch if it is king, because cash allows other long-term assets to outperform it almost every single year," Kelly said in comments Feb. 12 during the Exchange ETF conference in Miami Beach, Fla.
Kelly, who urged the audience to try to get their clients to invest in long-term assets, said cash isn't sensible for a long-term investment.
"If you're a long-term investor be in long-term assets," he said. "Why don't people do that? Well, they're scared about lots of things."
Among the things investors are scared about this year is the U.S. election, Kelly said.
"It's not our job to tell people how to think about politics or how to vote," he said. "I will say though when it comes to investing, the lesson of history is do not let how you feel about politics overrule how you think about investing."
Wisdom from Washington isn't what drives the economy forward, Kelly said.
"The truth is this economy has never flourished because of wisdom emanating out of Washington. That's not what drives it forward," he said. "What drives it forward is the 335 million people in this country who want buy more stuff, want to work more hours and want to get ahead."
