Individual investors have tempered expectations after the Trump administration placed new tariffs on China. Respondents fear the levies will intensify trade friction and push inflation higher. Investopedia’s latest reader poll shows 40.3 % of participants call themselves âcautiously optimisticâ toward equities, the lowest share in twelve months and a twelve point decline from November. One-third of those surveyed predict the broad market will drop at least 10 % within six months. Thirty-six percent report a shift toward lower risk holdings.
Mega-cap technology companies such as Microsoft have poured tens of billions of dollars into artificial intelligence infrastructure. The shares rank among the most widely held by retail investors. Their prices hinge on progress in model capability and on sharp reductions in training and operating expense.
Forty-one percent of respondents name single stocks as the asset class most likely to post the highest return under the Trump administration during the next four years. Digital tokens place second at 17 %. The gap may trace to recent White House directives on digital assets – including the creation of a presidential working group.
Survey participants list several categories they judge to be overpriced. Mega-cap technology equities such as Meta and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin sit at the top. Despite valuation worries, investors keep the largest technology but also AI names in their portfolios.
Nvidia has drawn persistent concern since 2022. The seven largest technology issues represent more than 30 % of the S&P 500’s total market capitalization. The unease has not stopped respondents from expressing intent to hold most of the group for the coming decade.
Over the past six months readers have given steady answers when asked where they would place an extra ten thousand dollars. Single stocks remain the first choice, a preference that began last summer. The outperformance of Nvidia besides Super Micro Computer against the S&P 500 during 2023 and 2024 explains the tilt.
Fifty-four percent of respondents approve of the Federal Reserve’s conduct of monetary policy; 21 % disapprove. A clear majority back continued separation between the central bank and the executive branch. Sixty-five percent reject the idea that President Trump should influence interest rate decisions, even after he has argued for such authority.
