UK investors loaded up on US stocks prior to Trump tariff turmoil, data shows

Reuters

Tue, Apr 8, 2025, 12:09 AM 2 min read

LONDON (Reuters) - British investors piled into U.S. stocks successful the weeks starring up to President Donald Trump's announcement of a barrage of commercialized tariffs past week that sent stocks tanking, funds web Calastone said connected Tuesday.

North American equities - comprising chiefly of U.S.-focused funds - netted 1.8 cardinal pounds ($2.3 billion) of inflows from UK investors successful March, their third-best period successful the 10-year information set, arsenic investors tried to "buy the dip" pursuing a anemic commencement to the twelvemonth for U.S. shares, Calastone said.

A seasonal displacement into stocks successful the UK each March - to instrumentality vantage of taxation breaks up of the extremity of the UK's taxation twelvemonth connected April 5 - besides helped substance the buying.

"The beardown appetite for US equities successful March is astatine likelihood with tidal forces successful planetary markets that are seeing a beardown rotation retired of US assets and into markets similar Europe and the UK," said Edward Glyn, caput of planetary markets astatine Calastone.

U.S. stocks were already down year-to-date anterior to Trump's tariff announcement past Wednesday, but those declines turned into a melodramatic driblet successful consequent days arsenic investors dumped equities.

Stock marketplace downturns person progressively attracted retail investors looking to "buy the dip". Retail investors bought $4.7 cardinal successful stocks past Thursday, the highest level implicit the past decade, JPMorgan said successful a enactment connected Friday.

Trading volumes some successful and retired of U.S. stocks were overmuch larger than accustomed successful March, Calastone said, suggesting disagreement among investors implicit prospects for the U.S. market, which has outperformed rivals successful caller years.

Equity funds wide saw nett inflows from UK investors of 1.4 cardinal pounds successful March, contempt investors pulling a nett 1.2 cardinal pounds from UK equities, according to Calastone's data.

Investors besides withdrew a nett 700 cardinal pounds from enslaved funds successful the month, portion safe-haven wealth marketplace funds attracted 513 cardinal pounds of caller cash.

($1 = 0.7813 pounds)

(Reporting by Iain Withers; Editing by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes and Sharon Singleton)