Wealthy investors feeling more confident but politics is a concern

With the US presidential election, unrest in Hong Kong, and Brexit all on the agenda, investors have worries

Wealthy investors feeling more confident but politics is a concern
Steve Randall

Wealthy investors globally are more concerned about political matters than they were three months ago according to a poll by UBS.

The wealth manager surveyed more than 4,000 wealthy investors and business owners and found that 46% are confident in the global economy over the coming 12 months, up from 40% in the previous quarterly poll.

However, concern about politics has increased with 46% ranking the US election among their biggest worries, up from 39% three months ago. For politics in their own country, there was an increase in the same period from 44% to 51%.

“COVID-19 remains the top investor concern globally, yet there is significant divergence by region on the focus of post-recovery plans,” Paula Polito, divisional vice-chairman at UBS Global Wealth Management. “While more Asians and Europeans see an opportunity for a ‘green’ recovery, US investors place more importance on a traditional economic turnaround.”

The share of respondents who are pessimistic about the global economy’s next 12 months fell to 38% from 45% three months ago, while there was an increase in the percentages who are optimistic about their own region’s economy (52% vs 46%) and stocks (53% vs 45%).

President Biden?
Poll respondents from across 14 countries are expecting a new president in the White House.

Joe Biden is seen as the winner of the election by 56% with 45% expecting Trump to remain.

Asian investors were most likely to say they would adjust their portfolio based on who wins, with 75% of respondents saying they were planning to do so versus a global average of 61%. Swiss investors were least likely, with only 31% of respondents saying they were planning to do so.

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