By Carolina Mandl
NEW YORK (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 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.