The following first appeared on Kiplinger. See also 10 Best Stocks to Buy If President Donald Trump Wins Re-Election.
It’s still early, and a lot can happen between now and November. But over the past few months, former Vice President Joe Biden’s chances of becoming the next president of the United States have vastly improved.
As of late July, the betting markets were pricing in a 60% probability of the election going his way, and most polls show Biden ahead in the key swing states that will decide it.
Polls won’t always nail it perfectly, as we saw four years ago when Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, but Donald Trump won the electoral college vote. And the COVID-19 pandemic gives us an entirely new set of variables. If voter turnout is low due to virus fears, it’s anyone’s guess to what the final tally will look like. But it’s important to have an investing action plan in place for either scenario: a Trump re-election … or a potential Biden win.
“A Biden administration will mean more regulatory scrutiny for financial and energy stocks and probably higher taxes across the board,” says Rodney Johnson, president of economic research firm HS Dent Publishing. “But there will be opportunities. Infrastructure spending, green energy and health care are all Democratic priorities and should do well under a Biden presidency.”
Let’s look at 10 of the best stocks to buy for a Joe Biden presidential victory. Some of these are fairly obvious winners, but some are contrarian bets you might not expect. Or, you can also learn more about the best stocks to buy if President Donald Trump wins re-election.
We’ll start with Brookfield Renewable Partners LP (BEP, $44.81), which owns a portfolio of wind, solar, hydroelectric and other green-energy properties.
While Biden is less focused on environmental issues than many of his Democratic peers, environmentalism and sustainability are a big part of his platform. From his campaign website:
“From coastal towns to rural farms to urban centers, climate change poses an existential threat – not just to our environment, but to our health, our communities, our national security, and our economic well-being. … Biden believes the Green New Deal is a crucial framework for meeting the climate challenges we face.”
Biden might have to negotiate with a Republican Senate, and it’s extremely unlikely he’d have a strong enough mandate to force through the Green New Deal in its entirety. In fact, “even if Biden wins the White House and Democrats lead Congress, the combined opposition from the party’s moderate wing and from Republicans should make it difficult to push through transformational fiscal programs, such as the Green New Deal and Medicare for All,” writes the Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
But it’s still safe to assume that green energy and infrastructure will be a priority. That makes Brookfield Renewable Partners LP, the 60%-owned renewable-energy affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management (BAM), one of the best stocks to buy for a Joe Biden presidency.
The U.S. government isn’t exactly going to write Brookfield a check. But a rising tide lifts all boats, and increased spending in this space is likely to boost Brookfield’s bottom line.
To continue reading, please see 10 Best Stocks to Buy If Joe Biden Wins the Presidency.