Conservative Investors More Likely to Say Trump Presidency Will Help Portfolios

While the country remains divided in its reaction to Donald Trump being elected president, the same is true for investors, E*Trade found in its latest quarterly survey of investors.

Nearly 70% of conservative investors think the new administration will benefit their portfolio, but only 30% of liberals think so. However, both are nearly equally likely to make changes to their portfolio in reaction to the new president (57% of conservatives and 64% of liberals).

More than half of all investors think the new administration will benefit their retirement portfolio. This is slightly higher for Boomers and Millennials (56% and 55%, respectively), but true of only 50% of those among Generation X.

Overall, 60% of investors are excited about personal tax cuts, but this jumps slightly to 64% of liberals and declines modestly to 58% of conservatives.

Despite their adverse reaction to Trump, nearly 70% of liberals like his infrastructure plans, while only about 30% of conservatives are enthusiastic about these plans.

Younger investors are more excited about the new presidency; nearly 70% of Millennials are most excited about personal tax cuts, compared to about 60% of Gen Xers and just over half of Boomers.

“We know that politics and passion go hand in hand, and are seeing that these factors are influencing investing decisions,” says Mike Loewengart, vice president of investment strategy at E*Trade Financial. “While deep-seated political beliefs may be difficult to curb, we always caution against emotional investing, urging investors to be guided by their head and not their heart.”