Would a Joe Biden Presidency Be Good for the Economy?

One week after a huge triumph on Super Tuesday, Joe Biden won Democratic primaries in Florida, Illinois and Arizona. The Democratic presidential nominee race seemed to solidify around the former vice-president, and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders considered dropping out of the race.

From a Democratic viewpoint, Biden has long been judged one of the best opponents to face President Donald Trump, and most investors have also considered Biden to be a better economic choice than Sanders, who ran on a Democratic socialist platform.

Spectrem’s new study on the impact of the election year on the attitudes and behaviors of investors indicated that investors also believe Biden is an acceptable Democratic choice, if not quite as attractive from a business standpoint as President Trump himself.

In the March edition of Wealthy Investors and the Election: A Guide for Financial Advisors in 2020, investors speculated on the outcome of the November election and the impact of that outcome on the economy.

Advisors reading the election report can determine what investors anticipate from the results of the November election and its impact on their personal investment allocations. The report will be updated monthly until election day.

In February, investors were asked to compare their reaction to a second Trump administration versus a new Democratic one, at a time when there were still six or more Democratic candidates running. The statement they were asked to agree or disagree with was “It will be good for the economy if…” and 43 percent said a second Trump term would be good. Only 26 percent said it would be good for the economy if the Democratic nominee won.

When the statement was again offered in March, the Democratic race was effectively down to two candidates, Biden and Sanders. While 44 percent saw a second Trump administration as good for the economy, 29 percent said it would be good for the economy if Biden won the election, and only 8 percent thought A Sanders presidency would be beneficial to the economy.

The April election report, which will be issued April 15, will provide updated answers regarding a Trump presidency and a Biden presidency.

The Spectrem report includes questions to investors about their attitudes toward the top societal and financial issues of the day and compares responses from one month to the next.

Related: The Evolving Attitudes Investors have Towards Investing