They may not agree with him, but they love his effect on the investment climate. A unique new survey of hedge fund managers, brokers and other financial wizards finds that 74 percent give President Trump high marks for his positive effect on the stock market, though only 40 percent approve of his job performance so far.
“We were surprised,” said Eric W. Noll, CEO of Covergex, the global brokerage firm that conducted the survey — a wide-ranging and comprehensive poll that gauged the “Trumperature” of the respondents and the political climate.
“It is clear from the results that most of the respondents feel President Trump will have a positive impact on the near-term prospects of the financial market, even if they don’t necessarily agree with his overall vision for the country,” Mr. Noll added.
This is promising news for Mr. Trump, at a time when the nation places a robust economy at the top of its wish list.
Another 57 percent of the respondents expect stocks to do better over the next four years with Mr. Trump in office, while only 21 percent said stocks would improve had Hillary Clinton won the White House.
A majority — 54 percent — also said Mr. Trump’s proposed tax cuts would be the most beneficial to U.S. equity markets, followed by deregulation and infrastructure spending. The respondents cited Capitol Hill gridlock as the greatest capital market-related concerns facing the Trump presidency, followed by trade and currency issues, and potential military conflicts.
And one other interesting dimension: 47 percent say the press has been unfair to Mr. Trump, while 49 percent said that news organizations fail to deliver “accurate and unbiased coverage.”
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.