New data from Opinium’s latest IFA (independent financial adviser) barometer reveals over a third of IFAs (36%) believe Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs were ‘a storm in a teacup’. However, two in five (40%) advisers admit they felt very stressed at the time, with 60% stating it was stressful for their clients.
Perhaps due to this stress, over half of IFAs (57%) believe that Trump’s April tariffs have made their clients more hesitant to invest. As a result, 33% of IFAs think that investors will be investing at a lower rate than usual, with one in seven (16%) predicting clients will opt to move money into cash.
Despite IFAs noting this change in investor behaviour, a quarter (24%) believe that the tariffs imposed by Trump in April did not pose an actual threat to clients’ investment value.
The heightened stress felt during this period reinforces the fact that over a third (34%) of advisers see one of their biggest challenges over the next 12 month as supporting their clients through economic uncertainty.
Alexa Nightingale, Global Head of Financial Services research at Opinium, commented: “Our research shows that many advisers don’t think the tariffs announced by Trump in April had as far-reaching an impact as first feared. However, given the increased stress felt by IFAs and their clients at the time, advisers clearly believe the announcements affected the investing landscape in numerous ways. Most notably advisers recognise a shift in investor attitudes and see supporting clients during periods of economic uncertainty as an ongoing and future challenge.
“Given the latest tariff situation with the US and the EU trying to reach a trade deal, it will be interesting to see how IFAs continue to navigate client relationships against the backdrop of further international economic uncertainty and this latest round of announcements.”
