Trump’s richest campaign donors are being left out of the stock market’s surge

“Sorry guys.”Win McNamee

The S&P 500 has soared since President Donald Trump’s election victory on November 8. But his biggest campaign donors have been largely left out in the cold.

A group of Trump’s 24 biggest financial backers has seen their collective net worth rise by just 0.6% since the election, while the S&P 500 has climbed more than 14%, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Brendan Coffey and Jack Witzig.

Those donors — all members of Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index — forked over more than $29 million combined to Trump’s campaign and affiliated political groups, Coffey and Witzig calculated using federal records.

The underperformance relative to the broader stock market stems from the group’s outsized exposure to the energy and retail sectors, they found.

The energy group has come under pressure as oil prices have dropped 10% year-to-date, spurred by a persistently high level of stockpiles worldwide. While there’s been speculation that oil prices will rebound, that hasn’t yet come to fruition. Going forward, oil prices will at least partially hinge on economic data, which, when positive, raises expectations for energy demand.

Meanwhile, the retail space has been marred by more than 6,300 store closings so far in 2017. The closings have stemmed from years of declining sales and Amazon’s ability to disrupt everything in its path, which has put everything from the grocery stores to sporting good retailers on notice.

The S&P 500 Energy Index has slipped 8% since the election, while a gauge of retailers in the benchmark has fallen 10%.

Bringing up the rear since the election is Harold Hamm, the chairman and CEO of oil producer Continental Resources. His net worth has plunged by almost 27% since November 8, Bloomberg data show.

That’s not to say every one of Trump’s billionaire campaign benefactors has struggled. The president’s richest donor is casino titan Sheldon Adelson, who’s seen his wealth grow by 4% since the election.

The best-performing member of the group assessed by Bloomberg has been Thomas Peterffy, the founder, chairman and CEO of Interactive Brokers Group. He’s outpaced the S&P 500, adding 20% to his net worth.

See the original Bloomberg article here…

Markets Insider