Baby-boomers are faced with a “devastating wealth from the market slide: finance guru

Many people could be disappointed when they open their IRA declarations in the coming days – and the “Liberation Day” tariffs of President Donald Trump threaten to worsen things.

The S&P 500 fell 5% in the first three months of 2025, marking its worst quarter since 2022, while the composite of the Nasdaq collapsed by 10% while shares like Tesla plunged by 36%.

These reductions have eliminated the investments of many people on the stock market and could disrupt their retirement plans if they continue.

“For the small investor, the drop in value will be devastating, in particular for retired baby boomers” who have their income from their retirement accounts, told Business Business Insider, the principal financing teacher at the Freeman School of Business of the University of Tulane.

The sale is partly in reaction to the prices upside down of Trump in recent weeks, which has “impossible” business owners to make decisions, said Ricchiuti.

The former investment official, who once supervised the $ 3 billion portfolio in Louisiana as a state assistant treasurer, said that a business management has become a “Whack-a-Mole game” because everyone is trying to guess which industry will then be struck.

The prices landed

Trump on Wednesday unveiled prices of at least 10% on imports from all foreign countries, with higher rates for countries with a large trade deficit with the United States. Chinese goods, the number-two exporter to the United States after Mexico, will be subject to a rate of 54% from April 9 if nothing changes.

The news reduced the contracts over S&P by more than 3% in pre-commerce exchanges Thursday, while Tesla and Nvidia key constituents fell 8% and 6% respectively.

Prices increase costs for businesses and consumer prices, while uncertainty discourages hiring, expansion and expenses. These forces slow down the growth in business profits, eroding assessments and sending lower actions, said Ricchiuti.

Goldman Sachs’ strategists reduced their S&P 500 forecasts last week, citing incoming rates as the main justification. They predicted that the index would decrease 5% more this quarter and earn 6% in the next 12 months, against 0% and 16%, respectively.

An urgent concern is that Trump increases import taxes will lead to countries to retaliate by imposing reciprocal prices on imports from the United States. Ricchiuti said that this is one of the reasons why prices never succeed in leveling the terms of exchange and acting as “prosperity killers”.

During Trump’s first term, he imposed scanning prices on goods ranging from steel and aluminum to solar panels and washing machines, and large rights on imports from China. The prices have led to material price increases and the real income reductions of the Americans, have revealed studies.

Anxiety abounds

Another concern for investors and everyday Americans is that if prices lead consumers to reduce spending and businesses to be released, overall economic growth could suffer. Ricchiuti reported that there are growing concerns at Wall Street that Trump’s trade battles “will cause a recession or even stagflation as sold.”

Blackrock CEO, Larry Fink described the national atmosphere in his annual letter on Monday.

“I hear it of almost all customers, almost all leaders – almost all people – I speak to: they are more worried about the economy than in recent memory,” he wrote.

Another wave of price chaos now threatens to strike actions that have already withdrawn. Timing is terrible for baby boomers living in their nest eggs, who could see their retirement funds decrease if they withdraw money at the same time as their titles are in value.

Ricchiuti deplored that the economy was on the right track of the decline in inflation and register the benefits of companies and equity prices before the inauguration of Trump.

“The worst part of all this is that these economic injuries are self-inflicted,” he said.