Insights / April 2025

The tariff battle and global markets

The disruption in the rules based global order (which includes the latest Trump tariff proposals) has been deeply unsettling for consumers, businesses and investors. Global financial markets have recoiled at the speed and severity of change, and it will take some time for market participants to grasp the ramifications over the remainder of the second Trump presidency and beyond.

With the turmoil in global share markets, it is a timely reminder for long-term investors of the normal and very real prevalence of negative returns, including market corrections (represented by a > -10% decline) and bear markets (-20% declines) in long-term returns data.

Research continues to highlight that poor investment returns are more often attributed to poor investor behavior than the underlying return of investment markets. Please refer to the presentation below for APW Partners’ analysis and comment.