Almost eight in 10 institutional investors are rejigging portfolios through tactical tweaks and strategic shifts as they brace for heightened turbulence triggered by U.S. trade policy, new research shows.
A study from Sydney-based research firm CoreData Research, which surveyed 154 global institutional investors in Q2, found 77% are implementing either tactical or strategic changes or a combination of both in response to President Trump’s trade policies. A higher proportion of European investors (86%) have made tactical or longer-term strategic shifts, reflecting a more pessimistic stance on U.S. markets. Indeed, two-thirds (65%) of European respondents are bearish on U.S. equity markets over the next three months compared to half of U.S. (49%) and APAC (50%) respondents.
Among investors making tactical adjustments, more than half (56%) have reduced exposure to U.S. assets, with this proportion rising to nearly two-thirds (63%) of institutions in Europe. And 49% have trimmed exposure to trade-sensitive assets, rising to 56% of APAC respondents. Other tactical changes made by global investors include rotating from growth to value stocks and/or defensive sectors (41%), increasing cash allocations (40%) and hedging exposure to the U.S. dollar (44%).
Meanwhile, seven in 10 (69%) respondents think President Trump’s policies will accelerate a global shift away from U.S. Treasuries and the dollar. This rises to more than eight in 10 (82%) European investors. In addition, almost two-thirds (64%) of global investors expect Trump’s trade policies to fuel structurally higher inflation and slower economic growth, with Europeans showing elevated levels of concern (74%).
The survey also found a third (32%) of global investors think the U.S. and China will fail to agree a trade deal and consequently reinstate trade barriers that will unleash major economic disruption. Concern is highest among Europeans, with 40% expecting a no deal scenario to trigger significant upheaval.
However, the study also shows two-thirds (66%) of global respondents are optimistic that a US-China trade agreement will be reached within the next year, limiting market disruption. APAC investors (73%) are more optimistic than peers in the U.S. (69%) and Europe (58%).
“The research suggests that any optimism institutional investors have about the world’s most important trade negotiations belies a sense that global trade already has irrevocably changed, and thus, portfolio construction must adapt to a new reality,” said Michael Morley, head of CoreData U.S. “With a wide range of economic scenarios now very much in play, institutions are looking at ways to de-risk and build greater portfolio resilience.”
The pulse survey was carried out in Q2 2025 surveying 132 institutional investors and 22 institutional consultants who collectively manage or oversee more than $4.9 trillion in assets. Respondents included public and private pensions, insurers, foundations, endowments, family offices and institutional investment consultants.
