A survey finds some of the richest Americans are holding more cash than ever before, and why has to do with nerves over the 2020 election

• Members of investor network Tiger 21 are at record cash levels, CNBC reports, citing a survey of millionaire investors.
• The "massive" shift to cash came in the third quarter, Tiger 21 said, and has held so far throughout the fourth quarter.
• Overall, the survey of 842 investors found 50% saying the election was the "biggest risk" to their portfolio, about 20% higher than the coronavirus or recession.
• Tiger 21 founder Michael Sonnenfeldt told Business Insider that 66% of its investors are predicting a Biden win, and "there is still much uncertainty around the election outcome and how the markets will react."
• Meanwhile, millions of unemployed Americans can't expect another relief package until after the election.

As the 2020 election enters its final week, wealthy investors are doing something unusual — not investing.

Instead, Michael Sonnenfeldt, the founder of investor network Tiger 21, told CNBC's Eric Rosenbaum that his group has record cash levels. He said in the third quarter, Tiger 21 saw cash at 19% — up from 12% for March through June, and the highest in 12 years of record-keeping for Tiger 21. He told CNBC that this "massive shift" has held tight through the fourth quarter.

Sonnenfeldt told Business Insider that "As members prepare for the potential of a volatile time ahead, with the election quickly approaching, they're betting on the security that high cash levels afford and the upside that long-term investments — which track emerging technologies that will change the world in the coming years — provide."

Like the rest of the US, millionaires and the ultrawealthy are watching the election closely — especially when it comes to their holdings.

"While 66% of members are predicting a Biden win," Sonnenfeldt told Business Insider, citing an internal survey of Tiger 21 Members which concluded just weeks before the election, "there is still much uncertainty around the election outcome and how the markets will react."

And, as Business Insider's Kari McMahon reported, strategists for JPMorgan's asset management division are advising their clients to focus on the election's potential market impact instead of trying to predict the outcome.

Investors are more worried about the election than the pandemic

Per CNBC, a survey by E-Trade Financial's capital management unit of 842 investors found that the election was a primary cause for concern.

Half of respondents said that the election was the "biggest risk" to their portfolio. That was higher than both the coronavirus pandemic and the recession, which came in at 33% and 29%, respectively.

The ultrawealthy are already preparing ahead of potential tax changes

Regardless of the winner of the election, tax hikes may be on the way due to the pandemic — and the ultrawealthy are scrambling to alter their wills or take advantage of current policies.

As Business Insider's Taylor Nicole Rogers reported, this has led to a "frenzy" of estate planning among the ultrawealthy that is comparable only to 2012, when it seemed like the gift tax deduction was set to decrease (it didn't).

Read more: Inside the 'frenzy' among ultrawealthy Americans to update their wills, as the rich hand out million-dollar inheritances years early and overwhelm elite estate planners

Meanwhile, relief seems far-off for everyday Americans

Even as unemployment numbers drop, the number of long-term unemployed Americans — who have been unemployed for 27 weeks or more — is rising.

Heidi Shierholz, the Economic Policy Institute's senior economist and director of policy, told Business Insider's Madison Hoff that if congress extends unemployment insurance, more than 5 million jobs could be added.

But Americans hoping for extra unemployment insurance or relief will also be keeping a close eye on the post-election fallout. On Monday, Mitch McConnell adjourned the Senate until November 9 — meaning any new relief package will come only after the election.