Why Trump Tariff Turmoil Did Not Shake The Ultra-Rich

As markets see-sawed in response to policy shifts and economic fears - including US President Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping tariffs, followed by a surprise pause just a week later - one group of investors largely stayed put: the wealthy.

While institutional investors and hedge funds scrambled to de-risk, high-net-worth individuals mostly resisted the panic button. Instead, many saw opportunity. Several top wealth management executives say their clients remained calm, did some tax planning, and in some cases, even bought the dip.

The key difference this time, they say: Unlike the market meltdowns of 2008 or 2020, rich investors are walking into this turbulence with heavy cash cushions and a long-term perspective.

Pamela Lucina, head of family office solutions at Northern Trust, said she guided clients through the storm with her "three Ps": don't panic, don't predict, and engage in planning.

Many of her clients held portfolio reserves - cash or liquid assets set aside for times just like these.

"We've been telling them forever to plan for volatility, which is inevitable," Ms Lucina told NBC News. "They can pull from those risk-off assets to fund their lifestyle."

Ms Lucina said some clients who had recently sold businesses began selectively putting money into the market. But the bigger focus was on planning.

Three main strategies were brought up:

GRATs: Clients used lower valuations to fund grantor-retained annuity trusts, potentially passing on more wealth to heirs.

Roth Conversions: Moving funds to Roth IRAs at lower tax valuations.

Tax-loss Harvesting: Selling underperforming stocks to offset gains elsewhere.

"When we were able to turn the conversation more towards planning opportunities, people feel more in control," she said.

Matthew Fleissig, CEO of Pathstone, said, "We're getting less fear from our clients right now and more, 'Should we be buying?'"

Family office clients - those worth $100 million or more - were "layering in" to the market. Structured products and private market opportunities were also in demand.

"In times like these, it's our ability to find asymmetric opportunities... that investors look to us for," he said.

Still, he warned that the booming interest in private credit could backfire. "I think a lot of deals in private credit are extremely covenant-light," Mr Fleissig warned.

John Mathews, head of private wealth management for the Americas at UBS, said client sentiment was split along political lines and shaped by emotional reactions to policy - especially Trump's economic strategies.

"Our job is to take the emotion out of it and try to level-set," Mr Mathews said. "Most of the time we're psychologists."

He said that many UBS clients had already trimmed positions in January, anticipating some of the 2025 volatility.

"There is a lot of dry powder on the sidelines right now," he said. "Some of the really wealthy clients were thinking [in January], 'I made a lot of money... why not take profits now?'"

That caution paid off. When the Dow plunged 2,200 points last Friday, clients started buying.

"Friday afternoon, we saw a lot of buying," Mr Mathews said. "Clients were asking whether they should buy individual stocks... or just go ahead and buy the indexes."

UBS clients have also been turning to less volatile assets like private equity and gold - the latter still seen as a hedge despite a slight pullback.

One client, according to Mathews, said, "It's like I wanted to buy a property that had been $10 million and it goes to $8 million. It's cheaper, and I still like it. But now it could also go to $5 million. So what do I do?"

At Wealthspire, deputy chief investment officer Dmitriy Katsnelson said clients' large cash positions - partly set aside for April tax payments - softened the blow of recent losses. "That timing has been helpful," he said.

Smaller investors, particularly those with $2 to $3 million or approaching retirement, were more visibly shaken. But ultra-wealthy clients, with their money locked in less liquid assets like private equity, were less reactive.

"Mainly people are venting," Mr Katsnelson said. "They have direct exposure, and we're there to listen."