Summary
A gap has opened up between how Democrats and Republicans view the world. Many Americans want to express their political identities by any means possible. Others see their money as a way to sway business behaviour. All of this is influencing investment decisions. A bitterly fought rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden will most likely supercharge the trend.
Partisan investors also hope to change business behaviour. Since red states began to pull money from BlackRock, the firm’s boss, Larry Fink, has begun to shy away from referring to esg. The difficulty now is to sell to both sides without annoying either.
Investors who shifted out of stocks when Mr Trump won in 2016 would have lost out on a post-election rally. In the year after the vote, the S&P 500 rose by 21%. American capitalism has been built on the pursuit of profit at all costs.
