The Election and Your Money

We’ve assessed how the presidential candidates’ stances on financial issues will affect your wallet.

- SANDRA BLOCK, LISA GERSTNER, NELLIE S. HUANG AND ANNE SMITH

Whether the upcoming presidential election is a battle for the soul of the nation or the way to keep America great is a question we will leave to you to answer. But the election will have important ramifications for your financial wellbeing, and we’re all over that agenda. How will each of the candidates help steer the economy? What might your tax bill be? Is your portfolio headed for gains or losses?

For those questions, the person living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the next four years matters.

At the start of the year, a sound economy, rock-bottom unemployment rates and a roaring bull market made it Donald Trump’s election to lose. Then came the coronavirus pandemic, exacting a vast and tragic human toll, putting a dramatic end to the longest economic expansion and bull market on record, and robbing tens of millions of Americans of their livelihood.

It remains to be seen whether voters will renew President Trump’s lease on the White House in November, but former Vice President Joe Biden became a more formidable contender over the summer, if you believe the polls and the betting markets. In early July, policy analysts at investment firm Raymond James gave Biden a 55% chance of winning the presidency.

But it bears repeating that the circumstances surrounding the 2020 election are unique, and for insights into who will ultimately claim victory, you might be better off asking an epidemiologist than a political consultant. Each of the presidential candidates faces “significant challenges,” according to analysts at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “Voter perception of how President Trump manages the pandemic and economic reopening is key to his reelection bid.”