Trump, the tariff troll?

Hello everyone, and welcome to the April edition of the boodle blog. At boodle we believe that the person best abled to manage your money, is you and we educate you on how to do this successfully.
Our clients trust our opinions on the market, and we are grateful for all of our boodle members
Before we offer our opinion on the month of April, let’s take a look back at March and also the end of the first quarter in the market.

March was a difficult month to be an investor. If we had to sum it up in two words, we’d say “Trump tariffs”! The President has threatened tariffs on countries that trade with the U.S. like Canada, China, and Mexico and whether we want a trade war or not, it appears that we will get one
All of these threats about tariffs have helped to create volatility in the stock market, and thus, within our portfolios!
Investors suffered losses across all  indexes that we track, and the percentage losses have been felt by boodle members .The DOW lost 2.75% for March, while the broad-based S&P 500 gave back 4.07%. The NASDAQ was the biggest loser in March, coughing up 5.73% for the month.
The quarter (the first 3 months of 2025), saw losses of 1.28%, 4.6%, and 10.42% from the DOW, S&P 500, and NASDAQ respectively.

What should boodle members take from these numbers? We always instruct clients to never load up on stocks or funds in a hot sector of the market, such as technology. It is very easy to get caught up in a rising sector today, only to have to give it back tomorrow. Remember; stay disciplined in your strategy, and these pullbacks won’t affect your portfolio as much.

For the month of April, our members can expect more downward pressure on their holdings as Trump continues to implement his strategy on the economy. When used properly, tariffs can have a positive effect for the country that implements them. On the other hand, it can be a risky strategy, and for impatient investors, it can seem like a lousy strategy. Boodle feels that it can take time for the citizens to feel that something good can come out of tariffs, and again, we go back to you and how your portfolios are structured that should be your primary focus.

There is much going on in the U.S. economy, that we don’t have time to discuss it all here in this blog.
Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO and the head of DOGE. The Federal Reserve and the pausing of interest rate cuts. The shrinking of the federal government, and an election on April 1 that may move the markets.

Whatever happens in 2025, you can rest assured that Boodle will be there, offering you our 27 years of financial knowledge and insight that will help make you a better investor! Until next month, have a Happy Easter and from everyone here at Boodle, we thank you for placing your trust in our company that we built for you!