Biden vs. Trump: Investors and Business Owners Split
These two groups prefer different candidates but have the same top election issues, a UBS poll found.
The latest UBS Investor Watch Pulse survey of U.S. investors and business owners, released Thursday, finds that the two groups are split on their favorite to win the Nov. 3 presidential election.
Related: 7 in 10 Global Investors Want to Adjust Portfolios Ahead of U.S. Election: UBS
Investors favor former Vice President Joe Biden 51% to 49%, and 56% expect him to win. Meanwhile, business owners favor the incumbent 55% to 45%, and 55% expect him to be victorious.
Regardless of which party dominates, more investors expect a positive economic effect from an aligned presidency and Senate.
UBS surveyed 1,000 investors with at least $1 million in investable assets and 500 business owners with at least $1 million in annual revenue and at least one employee other than themselves from Oct. 16 to Oct 21.
The survey found most investors and business owners named the same issues as the most important in the election:
- Economy: investors – 89%; business owners – 88%
- Health care: investors – 79%; business owners – 83%
- Managing the coronavirus: investors – 80%; business owners – 80%
They also saw managing the pandemic as the winning candidate’s top focus during his first 100 days in office.
Sixty-three percent of investors reported that they had already made portfolio changes in anticipation of the vote: 36% by increasing cash, 30% by adjusting sector allocations and 27% by adding portfolio protection.
Fifty-five percent of investors said they intended to make more adjustments if Biden wins the election, and 53% said the same about a Trump victory.
Four in five investors surveyed said they wanted more guidance than usual from their financial advisor, and three in four purported to see an investment opportunity in market volatility.
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