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BofA Survey Shows Investors Braced for Contested U.S. Election

  • Delayed election outcome seen causing maximum volatility: BofA
  • Recession fears fell, investors cut cash and added to stocks
Residents cast ballots an early voting polling location for the 2020 Presidential election in Atlanta, Georgia, on Oct. 12.

Residents cast ballots an early voting polling location for the 2020 Presidential election in Atlanta, Georgia, on Oct. 12.

Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg

Fund managers overseeing $593 billion were bracing for extreme market turbulence as they expect the result of the November U.S. election to be contested even as the Democratic nominee Joe Biden holds a comfortable lead over President Donald Trump.

Among investors surveyed in the week through Oct. 8 by Bank of America Corp., 61% believe the U.S. vote’s outcome will be challenged, causing maximum volatility in the final months of the year. The monthly survey took place at a time when, according to RealClearPolitics, Biden held a lead of an average of 9 percentage points nationally over Trump.