Obama: 2nd-most bullish president since 1929

The presidential election is top of mind this time of year. Investors are starting to reflect on the performance of President Obama as his tenure comes to a close.

President Obama has presided over a period of practically perpetual bull markets. Coming into office in the aftermath of the financial crisis, the stock market has been in a bull market during 98.3% of his time in the Oval Office, according to an analysis from Bespoke Investment Group.

By that measure, Obama was the second-most-bullish president since 1929. President George H.W. Bush spent all of his time as president with markets in a bull. The market was in a bull market during 96.4% of the tenure of President Carter. Compare that with Presidents Hoover and Nixon, when the market was mired in a bear more than a bull during their time in office.

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Stocks have performed well with President Obama in office, not just based on the time spent in bull markets but also based on returns. The Standard & Poor’s 500 has returned 14% a year on average during his service, second only to President Clinton’s run with an average annual 15.2% return, Bespoke found.

The same can’t be said about President Carter, when stocks may have been frequently in a bull market but didn’t rise by much. The average annual return of stocks under President Carter was 6.3%, slightly better than the 5% return under all presidents. The worst performance under any president since the '20s remains the 31% decline under President Hoover.