Backchat: The stocks to dump with Trump; evaluating value investing

Many investors feel this is a good thing; Trump’s multitude of statements denying the reality of the impact of Covid-19 and increasing disregard for even the basics of his job have threatened to leave the US economy in very bad shape. 

 

But the departure of a president who was a shameless promoter of low taxes, fossil fuels and isolationism will not benefit everybody. 

 

The most obvious likely loser? Trump’s favourite method of mass communication. 

 

“I imagine Twitter’s stock price is going to tank after Trump goes,” the chief investment officer of a regional asset owner quipped to AsianInvestor. The president’s ceaseless need for attention was directed almost entirely through the micro-messaging social media platform. 

 

Trump could be relied upon to tweet controversial announcements, obnoxious claims and deceitful opinions on an almost daily basis. These ginned up supporters and opposers alike; Twitter benefited greatly from a surge in ‘doomscrolling’ viewers. 

 

Indeed, media in general profited from the four-year Trump Show. A return to a semblance of normality under the less exciting Joe Biden could well mean the viewing figures of the likes of CNN, MSNBC drop off, while the subscription rates of the New York Times and Washington Post, among others, could slip downwards after some blockbuster years.  

 

Coal companies and oil explorers and possibly fracking companies, given an easy ride under the Trump administration, are also likely to see their futures looking bleaker as pollution regulations become tougher. 

 

Gunmakers are one set of companies likely to benefit. Claims that “they’re coming to take your guns” have become almost a mantra for Republican politicians and the National Rifle Association upon the ascension of a Democratic president. 

 

As always, fear sells. 

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ESG GONE MAD?