The biggest financial story of 2025 will begin on Jan. 20, when President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House. Trump’s economic agenda is expected to be heavy on tariffs and tax cuts, according to financial influencer Humphrey Yang. How that agenda plays out will influence Yang’s investing plan for 2025.
In a recent video on YouTube, Yang said investors will “have to factor in that there will be new policies under the [Trump] presidential administration.” At the same time, he said, investors need to monitor the stock markets closely to see how much longer they can maintain their torrid pace.
Yang is a former financial advisor who now shares his personal finance knowledge on TikTok as @humphreytalks. He previously worked in mobile gaming. Here are some of the areas that will influence his investing plan for 2025.
Check Out: I’m a Self-Made Millionaire: 5 Stocks You Shouldn’t Sell
Read Next: Money Influencer Delyanne Barros: Why Boring Could Be Best for Investing
As Yang noted, the S&P 500 started 2024 at 4,742 and “mostly just stayed in a straight up and to the right pattern” before closing the year at 5,882. That represented a yearly gain of 24% — well above the typical return of 9% to 11% a year, according to Yang. The index’s price-to-earnings ratio is also much higher than average.
Although Yang plans to remain heavily invested in equities in 2025 — with about 90% of his portfolio in the stock markets — he also is considering keeping more of his assets in cash to help offset the risk that market gains will moderate.
“Another signal to me that you may just want to hold more cash is to just look at Warren Buffett’s portfolio,” Yang said. “He’s holding a record high amount of cash for his portfolio…Now that could just be coincidence, or he could just be hedging a little bit against a frothy market.”
See More: How To Get a 10% Return on Investment (ROI): 10 Proven Ways
Trump has proposed imposing a 25% tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada, according to Brookings, along with a 10% tariff on Chinese goods. This could force manufacturers and retailers to raise prices on the products they sell to offset rising costs, which means consumers will pay more for certain items. From an investing standpoint, Yang will keep a close watch on companies like Walmart and Apple to see how they’re impacted. For investors, it could mean limiting their exposure to certain stocks.
“Apple…sources many of their components and finished products from China [so] they might see their stock price decline if those goods are subject to a significant tariff,” Yang said. “it’s definitely something that we’re going to have to keep an eye on.”
Read More: Should You Do the Same?
