How the election changed investors

What they found: A third wave of the coronavirus, combined with stocks at all-time highs and uncertainty about the actions of the incoming administration, combined to persuade 65% of Americans to put more money into cash savings, says Personal Capital president Jay Shah, even as a smaller minority started "chasing heat" and buying high-flying tech stocks.

• The biggest change after the election was in where new money was put to work. "Pre-election, one out of every five dollars coming to us would go into socially responsible strategies," says Shah. "Post-election, it's one in every three dollars."
• Such investments could be a bet on President Biden's $3 trillion green-infrastructure plan, or they could just represent more optimism from Democrats, who are more likely to invest in those strategies.

The bottom line: The surging markets notwithstanding, most Americans are still more nervous about the economy than they were a year ago. That can make them twitchy, when it comes to their investments, and prone to take quick action when news happens.