'Hold your hat' if Elizabeth Warren becomes president, billionaire investor Howard Marks says
- Donald Trump's reelection would bolster the stock market, while an Elizabeth Warren presidency would likely tank it, billionaire investor Howard Marks told CNBC on Tuesday.
- Oaktree Capital Management's boss said that if Trump wins next year, investors will "breathe a sigh of relief that he was re-elected and that will probably be healthy for the market."
- However, his advice was to "hold your hat" if Warren becomes president, given her criticism of big businesses and plans to toughen regulations on Wall Street.
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Donald Trump's reelection would bolster the stock market, while an Elizabeth Warren presidency would likely tank it, billionaire investor Howard Marks told CNBC on Tuesday.
"The market took off after Trump's election because he was judged to be pro-market and he has behaved pro-business," Oaktree Capital Management's cofounder and cochairman said. If he wins next year, investors will "breathe a sigh of relief that he was re-elected and that will probably be healthy for the market."
A Michael Bloomberg victory would have a similar effect, Marks said, while a win for Joe Biden, the former vice president, wouldn't spark a strong market reaction. However, given Warren's criticism of big business and her plans to toughen regulations on Wall Street, Marks' advice was to "hold your hat" if the Massachusetts senator becomes president.
The last presidential election underlined the folly of trying to forecast how investors will react, Marks added.
"A week before Donald Trump's election, there were two things we were sure of: Hillary would win and if Trump won, the market would collapse," he said. "Donald won and the market went up."
Nonetheless, Marks stood by his prediction. "I do think that there would be an adverse reaction to a progressive president."
