Wirtz eyes US capital market rally after mid-term elections

Fifth Third Asset Management president and CIO Keith Wirtz believes the US capital markets will enjoy a late rally following the mid-term elections in November.

Wirtz, whose firm took on management of Skandia Investment Group’s $80m US Large Cap Growth fund, says the prospect of a hung parliament, which is currently hitting sterling badly, would have the opposite effect across the Atlantic. He predicts the Democrats will lose seats in both the house and the senate in the mid-terms, resulting in congressional gridlock, which in turn will lead to a rally in the markets. “The US markets would cheer for a divided government,” Wirtz says. “The markets will perceive less risk coming from congress and less damage to the American taxpayer and that ma...