For some heavy hitters (and big egos) in markets, the worst possible outcome from the US presidential election is a victory for Kamala Harris.
A narrowing or even vanishing lead in the opinion polls for the Democratic candidate, mixed in with a big rise in wagers on her rival in the betting markets, have been enough to convince a good chunk of macro hedge fund managers that Donald Trump is on his way back to the White House. Some wishful thinking by speculative investors (who skew white, male and wealthy) could also be at play.
Political wonks still often say the election is a coin toss, and that the political betting markets are unrepresentative and best ignored. BlackRock chief Larry Fink this week argued that the result of the election “really doesn’t matter” for markets — a relaxed stance that it’s fair to say is not universal. In any case, once unleashed, a political frenzy — among certain types of investors at least — is hard to suppress.