Global money managers expect President George W. Bush will win the US election in November, reversing predictions a month ago that Senator John Kerry would triumph, according to a survey released on Tuesday.
The poll, conducted by Wall Street banking giant Merrill Lynch, found a net 46 percent of fund manager respondents expected Bush to win a second term.
"As far as investors are concerned, they have clearly started to discount a Bush victory," Merrill Lynch chief global investment strategist David Bowers said.
A month ago, the same survey found a net 4 percent expected Democratic candidate Kerry to win.
Merrill Lynch noted the survey was taken immediately after the Republican National Convention earlier this month and was heavily skewed towards fund managers living outside of North America.
A Time poll taken during the Republican National Convention showed Bush had opened an 11 point lead over Kerry.
The monthly Merrill Lynch survey of 290 fund managers who manage around $880 billion of assets usually focuses on expectations for the economy, interest rates and corporate profits.