Portfolio managers take defensive stance to mitigate risk of 'coin toss' US election

Hedging their bets

Linus Uhlig
clock • 5 min read

Fund managers are looking for opportunities to spread investments, 'sell down' and reduce exposure to mitigate the risk of the precariously balanced upcoming US election next week.

"Markets ultimately dislike uncertainty", but right now "it is a 50-50 toss-up", between the two candidates, said Grant Bowers, senior vice-president and portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton's Franklin Equity Group.  Despite some recent divergence, polling has shown that race for the next Oval Office occupant remains hotly contested, presenting challenges to portfolio managers attempting to price in or trade the US election.  According to Laura Cooper, global investment strategist at Nuveen, the outcome of the US election on 5 November "could be a key factor in determining the near...

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