Illustration by Kati Szilágyi
How Traders Are Preparing for a Long, Volatile Election Night
As the results trickle in, some highly caffeinated investors will be watching margins and tweaking their wagers until sunrise.
For the big money on Wall Street, there’s the prep that’s bound to come with a coin-toss election that could dramatically swing policy. Trading desks staffed through the night, with teams in Hong Kong and Singapore enlisted to help. Tracking popular “Trump trades” — long the dollar, short bonds — ready to pile in or quickly unwind.
And then there are the steps taken for an election season like no other. One London-based hedge fund primed its “shock” computer model especially for this moment. Banks are preparing for the risks, however remote, of civic violence — a prospect that would shake the US, the world and global financial markets.