Hedge funds side with 'Trump trades' in equities, says JPM
By Carolina Mandl
NEW YORK, Oct 21 (Reuters) -Global hedge funds have shown "a strong preference" for stocks that could perform well if Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wins the election, JPMorgan JPM.N said in a note late last week analyzing how positioning is changing ahead of the nomination.
"In general, net flows year-to-date have been quite correlated to Trump's odds," said the bank, adding "there is room for a bit of disappointment and reversal in coming weeks if odds start to shift the other way."
Democratic candidate Kamala Harris led Trump by a marginal 45% to 42% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday, with the gap between both candidates remaining steady. Some other national polls have showed the gap between candidates narrowing.
Trump has taken the lead in online prediction markets, with a 60% chance of winning the race on Polymarket.
Over the past few weeks, portfolio managers bought assets in some themes that could benefit from a Republican government, according to JPMorgan's positioning intelligence unit, which tracks hedge funds' portfolios.
Meanwhile, hedge funds sold assets that could perform well under a Democratic government. As an example, JPMorgan mentioned renewable energy, which "sold very quickly in past couple weeks as Trump’s odds jumped."
The Republican candidate has laid out an energy policy platform that opposes president Joe Biden's clean energy agenda.
Hedge funds have been buying crypto stocks strongly, but positioning is neutral. Trump has positioned himself as pro-cryptocurrency and has unveiled a new crypto business, World Liberty Financial.
JPMorgan did not entirely detail the components of its Republican and Democratic baskets. The bank did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for more information.
Some hedge funds have been more vocal about their trades leaning on a Trump win. Billionaire investor Daniel Loeb has adjusted Third Point's portfolio to capture a potential boom in corporate activity if the Republican candidate wins the election, according to a letter seen by Reuters.
Reporting by Carolina Mandl, in New York, Editing by Louise Heavens
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
