Investing

Typically, investors flock to fixed income like U.S. Treasurys when there’s economic turmoil.
The opposite happened this week with a sharp sell-off of U.S. government bonds, which dropped bond prices as yields soared.
Here’s what advisors are telling their clients amid the latest volatility.

Hinterhaus Productions | Getty Images

As investors digest the latest bond market sell-off, advisors have tips about portfolio allocation amid continued market volatility.
Typically, investors flock to fixed income like U.S. Treasurys when there’s economic turmoil. The opposite happened this week with a sharp sell-off of U.S. government bonds, which dropped bond prices as yields soared. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. 

Treasury yields then retreated Wednesday afternoon when President Donald Trump temporarily dropped tariffs to 10% for most countries but increased levies on Chinese goods. That duty now stands at 145%.
As of Thursday afternoon, Treasury yields were down slightly.
Still, “there’s a massive amount of uncertainty,” Kent Smetters, a professor of business economics and public policy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, told CNBC.
More from Personal Finance:See if you qualify for the $1,400 IRS stimulus check before the deadlineWhat college savers need to know about their 529 accounts as market roilsWhy the stock market hates tariffs and trade wars
Experts closely watch the 10-year Treasury yield because it’s tied to borrowing rates for products like mortgages, credit cards and auto loans. The yield climbed above 4.5% overnight on Tuesday as investors offloaded the asset. As of Thursday afternoon, the 10-year Treasury yield was around 4.4%.

Kevin Hassett, director of the U.S. National Economic Council, told CNBC on Thursday that bond market volatility likely added “a little more urgency” to Trump’s tariff decision. 
As some investors question their bond allocations, here’s what advisors are telling their clients.

Loading chart…

Take the ‘proactive approach’

Despite the latest bond market sell-off, there hasn’t been a recent shift in client portfolios for certified financial planner Lee Baker, owner of Apex Financial Services in Atlanta. 
“I’ve been taking a proactive approach” by shifting allocations early based on the threat of future tariffs, said Baker, who is also a member of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council.
With concerns about future inflation triggered by tariffs, Baker has increased client allocations of Treasury inflation-protected securities, or TIPS, which can provide a hedge against rising prices.

Consider ‘guardrails’

Ivory Johnson, a CFP and founder of Delancey Wealth Management in Washington, D.C., has also been defensive with client portfolios. “I’ve used instruments to give me guardrails,” such as buffer exchange-traded funds to limit losses while capping upside potential, said Johnson, who is also a member of CNBC’s FA Council.Buffer ETFs use options contracts to provide a pre-defined range of outcomes over a set period. The funds are tied to an underlying index, such as the S&P 500. These assets typically have higher fees than traditional ETFs.

Take a ‘temperature check’

With future stock market volatility expected, investors should revisit risk tolerance and portfolio allocations, Baker said. 
“This is a good time for a temperature check,” he said.
Market turmoil has happened before and will happen again. If you can’t stomach the latest drawdowns — in stocks or bonds — this is a chance to shift to more conservative holdings, Baker said. 
“We’re not selling because I’m concerned about the market,” he added. “I’m concerned about comfort level.” More

Harun Ozalp | Anadolu | Getty Images

Janover, a small software company with a new focus on accumulating crypto for its treasury, is surging after completing its first purchase of the Solana token.
The company bought $4.6 million of Solana’s SOL token on Thursday. Earlier this week, Janover announced that it raised $42 million through the private offering of convertible notes and warrants, with plans to acquire SOL.

Janover shares were last higher by more than 64%, after skyrocketing more than 100% earlier in the day.

Stock chart icon

Janover surges after its first SOL purchase

“Our aim is to be the most efficient and transparent vehicle for crypto accumulation in the public markets,” Janover CEO Joseph Onorati said in a statement Thursday. “Executing our first SOL purchase within days of completing our restructuring reflects that commitment.”
Janover, a software company founded in 2018, on Monday announced a new crypto-focused treasury management strategy after a team of former executives from the popular Kraken crypto exchange acquired majority ownership of the firm. It also plans to change its name to DeFi Development Corporation and revise its ticker symbol.
In a move that’s similar to the bitcoin acquisition approach pioneered by Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, Janover plans to regularly accumulate SOL. It also plans to also acquire validators — that is, computers that help run the Solana network by verifying transactions. Not only can these validators be used to acquire SOL tokens, but they can also “stake” them, which involves earning rewards for locking up SOL tokens on the network.
The SOL token fell more than 8% Thursday as risk assets gave back a sizable chunk of their gains from this week’s historic rally. It’s also one of the hardest-hit coins this year, down 43% in 2025 after outperforming most of the crypto market at its late January peak.

Don’t miss these cryptocurrency insights from CNBC Pro: More

Stocks have been on a wild ride since President Donald Trump announced a slate of tariffs on April 2.
In the four-session stretch ending Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 4,500 points, while the S&P 500 lost 12%.
Retail investors have swooped in to snap up stocks at depressed values, pointing to a buying opportunity as the major averages slid.

A screen shows trading indexes at the New York Stock Exchange on April 3, 2025.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters

While Wall Street spent the past week sweating over whether President Donald Trump’s now-altered tariff plan would push the economy into a recession or ignite a bear market, Rachel Hazit knew exactly what to do.
The Philadelphia-based marketer used cash she had on the sidelines to buy equities like the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) and the Invesco Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQM) last week. After learning about investing last year, the 32-year-old felt like she was seeing her first big drop in the market as someone with skin in the game.

“I see this time now as an opportunity,” Hazit said in an interview with CNBC this week. When the market declined last week, she remembers thinking: “This is on sale.”
Hazit’s investments are part of a flood of money totaling billions of dollars from everyday investors who have entered the stock market in recent days. These retail traders appear to following the conventional market wisdom of “buying the dip,” which refers to a strategy of purchasing stocks when they decline because they’re considered discounted.
Trump’s April 2 announcement of broad and steep tariffs sent the stock market reeling as investors feared the taxes on imports would hamstring consumer spending and drive up inflation. Several Wall Street strategists cut their outlooks for the S&P 500, a benchmark index of the largest public companies in the U.S., while multiple economists for these firms hiked the likelihood for a recession.
That all came to a head exactly one week later: Trump on Wednesday rolled back most of his planned levies, citing investor fears as one driver of the decision. An afternoon rally following the news pushed the S&P 500 up more than 9% in the session, marking its best day since 2008.
Institutional investors ran for the hills during that week, causing the S&P 500 to briefly dip into bear market territory, which refers to a 20% drop from recent highs. But data from market insights firm Vanda Research, a trusted authority on retail investor trends, showed mom-and-pop traders like Hazit doing the exact opposite.

“What marks an equity drawdown? It’s usually retail capitulation as the final shoe to drop,” said Marco Iachini, vice president of research at Vanda. “We’re clearly not seeing that.”

Consider that on April 3, while the S&P 500 cratered nearly 5% in the wake of Trump’s initial announcement, self-directed retail investors pushed more than $3 billion into U.S. stocks on balance. That’s the largest daily net haul on record, per Vanda data going back to 2014.
Small investors continued to buy stocks on balance over the following three days as the market tanked. In total, retail traders sent around $8.8 billion in net inflows to the U.S. stock market between last Thursday and this Tuesday, per Vanda.
Those purchases took place during an especially rocky stretch for the market. In the period between the April 2 close and the end of trading on April 8, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 4,500 points and the S&P 500 tumbled 12%.
Similarly, JPMorgan found retail traders bought around $11 billion in equities over the past week ended Wednesday. That’s about 2.5 times higher than the average seen over the past year, the firm said.

What retail investors want

Some trading during this period appeared tied to speculation on if Trump would roll back the levies he slapped on foreign countries, Vanda’s Iachini said. But Vanda has also seen strong inflows into exchange-traded funds tracking the broader market like Vanguard’s VOO and State Street’s SPY.
Purchasing these diversified indexes can signal individual investors are looking to buy into the market and hold onto their positions for a longer-term period, Iachini said. That’s a strategy retail trading experts favor over stock picking and day trading.
This drive into broad market funds reflects the sentiment among the retail crowd that “buying the dip” is a successful strategy, Iachini said. The logic, he said, goes something like this: If it’s mostly worked and produced great returns over the last 15 years, why stop now?
To be sure, these investors are raising their exposure to an increasingly risky market. The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street’s “fear gauge” known in short as the VIX, closed at levels this week not seen since early 2020. The Dow, a blue-chip index closely followed by everyday traders, saw its largest intraday point swing in its history on Monday.

Loading chart…

Retail investors have stood firm despite the turbulence. Mark Malek, investing chief at Siebert Financial, said his firm’s team that handles retail traders saw strong demand to buy on Wednesday, even as Trump’s announcement of pared-back import taxes catapulted the market higher.
Malek said there’s been significant interest in megacap technology names. In this vein, JPMorgan said Nvidia received about 6 of every 7 retail dollars sent into individual stocks on balance between April 2 and April 9.
Investing-focused influencers have tried to spread the word about the buying opportunity and dissuade panic-selling during the recent market decline. Tori Dunlap, who runs a platform focused on teaching women and minorities how to build wealth through investing, reminded followers that “millionaires are made during market downturns.”
But there’s also some key reasons for retail to sit out at this moment. One retail investor told CNBC that while he would have liked to buy the dip, he needed to save his cash on hand to pay the IRS by the April 15 federal tax filing deadline.

‘Along for the ride’

While Hazit has been sending cash into the market when it slides, she isn’t happy with the overall economic outlook. For example, she’s concerned about how Trump’s tariff policy could affect her spending power when she wants to buy a new phone in the future.
“This isn’t something that I’m out here celebrating. I’m quietly just buying one stock at a time when I can,” she said. “It’s definitely not a good time. It’s scary.”
Even as consumer confidence declines and recession fears swirl, this cohort of market participants knows that recent days have provided a good time to deploy cash into stocks.
Namaan Mian moved up his timeline to make his annual investments, knowing the decline in recent days provided an entry point. He bought shares of the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF on Tuesday, which aligns with his strategy of focusing on broad market indexes.
The 33-year-old said he wasn’t thinking about the potential for an economic downturn or what would ultimately happen with Trump’s tariffs. Because Mian looks longer term and has been investing since his teen years, he’s learned to detach emotion and always plans to keep holdings for at least several years. With this mindset, he said it can even become “fun” to watch the market gyrate.
“If I was 65 years old, I’m giving you a different answer,” Mian, the operations chief at a consultant training firm, told CNBC. “But because I’m not, I’m kind of just along for the ride.”
— CNBC’s Sarah Min contributed to this report. More

The Trump administration recently announced that it would begin a process of overhauling the country’s $1.6 trillion federal student loan system.
The potential changes could impact how millions of borrowers repay their debt, and who qualifies for loan forgiveness.

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters while in flight on Air Force One, en route to Joint Base Andrews on April 6, 2025. 
Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images

The Trump administration recently announced it would begin a process of overhauling the country’s $1.6 trillion federal student loan system.
The potential changes could impact how millions of borrowers repay their debt, and who qualifies for loan forgiveness.

“Not only will this rulemaking serve as an opportunity to identify and cut unnecessary red tape, but it will allow key stakeholders to offer suggestions to streamline and improve federal student aid programs,” said acting Undersecretary of Education James Bergeron in a statement on April 3.
Around 42 million Americans hold federal student loans.
Here are three changes likely to come out of the reforms, experts say.

1. SAVE plan won’t survive

Former President Joe Biden rolled out the SAVE plan in the summer of 2023, describing it as “the most affordable student loan plan ever.” Around 8 million borrowers signed up for the new income-driven repayment, or IDR, plan, the Biden administration said in 2024.
The plan has been in limbo since last year, and in February a U.S. appeals court blocked SAVE. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the seven Republican-led states that filed a lawsuit against SAVE, arguing that Biden was trying to find a roundabout way to forgive student debt after the Supreme Court struck down his sweeping loan cancellation plan in June 2023.

SAVE came with two key provisions that the legal challenges targeted: It had lower monthly payments than any other federal student loan repayment plan, and it led to quicker debt erasure for those with small balances.
More from Personal Finance:Why the stock market hates tariffs and trade warsWhy Fed chair wears purple ties — ‘we are nonpolitical’Don’t miss these tax strategies during the tariff sell-off
The Trump administration is unlikely to continue to defend the plan in court, or to revise it in its regulations, experts say.
“It’s difficult to see any scenario where SAVE will survive,” said Scott Buchanan, executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance, a trade group for federal student loan servicers.
For now, many borrowers who signed up for SAVE remain in an interest-free forbearance. That reprieve will likely end soon, forcing people to switch into another plan.

2. End to loan forgiveness under other plans

The Trump administration recently revised some of the U.S. Department of Education’s other income-driven repayment plans for federal student loan borrowers, saying that the changes were necessary to comply with the recent court order over SAVE.
Historically, at least, IDR plans limit borrowers’ monthly payments to a share of their discretionary income and cancel any remaining debt after a certain period, typically 20 years or 25 years. 
The IDR plans now open are: Income-Based Repayment, Pay As You Earn and Income-Contingent Repayment, according a recent Education Department press release.
As a result of the Trump administration’s revisions, two of those plans — PAYE and ICR — no longer conclude in automatic loan forgiveness after 20 or 25 years, Buchanan said, noting that the courts have questioned the legality of that relief along with SAVE.
The Trump administration, through its changes to the student loan system, is likely to make at least some of those temporary changes permanent, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.

Still, if a borrower enrolled in ICR or PAYE switches to IBR, their previous payments made under the other plans will count toward loan forgiveness under IBR, as long as they meet the plan’s other requirements, Kantrowitz said. Some borrowers may opt to take that strategy if they have a lower monthly bill under ICR or PAYE than they would on IBR.

3. Narrowed eligibility for PSLF

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March that aims to limit eligibility for the popular Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
PSLF, which President George W. Bush signed into law in 2007, allows many not-for-profit and government employees to have their federal student loans canceled after 10 years of payments.
According to Trump’s executive order, borrowers employed by organizations that do work involving “illegal immigration, human smuggling, child trafficking, pervasive damage to public property and disruption of the public order” will “not be eligible for public service loan forgiveness.”
For now, the language in the president’s order was fairly vague. Nor were many details given in the latest announcement about reforming the student loan system, which said the Trump administration is looking for ways to “improve” PSLF.
As a result, it remains unclear exactly which organizations will no longer be considered a qualifying employer under PSLF, experts said.
However, in his first few months in office, Trump’s executive orders have targeted immigrants, transgender and nonbinary people, and those who work to increase diversity across the private and public sector. Many nonprofits work in these spaces, providing legal support or doing advocacy and education work.
Changes to PSLF can’t be retroactive, consumer advocates say. That means that if you are currently working for or previously worked for an organization that the Trump administration later excludes from the program, you’ll still get credit for that time, at least up until when the changes go into effect.

Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO More

Social Security beneficiaries saw a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment in 2025.
The COLA adjustment for 2026 may not be as large, according to estimates based on the latest government inflation data.
Those early estimates could change due to potential inflationary pressures from tariffs, experts say.

M Swiet Productions | Getty Images

The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2026 is projected to be the lowest increase that millions of beneficiaries have seen in recent years.
This could change, however, due to potential inflationary pressures from tariffs. 

Recent estimates for the 2026 COLA, based latest government inflation data, place the adjustment to be around 2.2% to 2.3%, which are below the 2.5% increase that went into effect in 2025.
The COLA for 2026 may be 2.2%, estimates Mary Johnson, an independent Social Security and Medicare analyst. Meanwhile, the Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan senior group, estimates next year’s adjustment could be 2.3%.
If either estimate were to go into effect, the COLA for 2026 would be the lowest increase since 2021, when beneficiaries saw a 1.3% increase.

As the Covid pandemic prompted inflation to rise, the Social Security cost-of-living adjustments rose to four-decade highs. In 2022, the COLA was 5.9%, followed by 8.7% in 2023 and 3.2% in 2024.
The 2.5% COLA for 2025, while the lowest in recent years, is closer to the 2.6% average for the annual benefit bumps over the past 20 years, according to the Senior Citizens League.

To be sure, the estimates for the 2026 COLA are indeed preliminary and subject to change, experts say.
More from Personal Finance:Here’s the inflation breakdown for March 2025 — in one chartDon’t miss these tax strategies during the tariff sell-offSelling out during the market’s worst days can hurt you
The Social Security Administration determines the annual COLA based on third-quarter data for Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W.
New government inflation data released on Thursday shows the CPI-W has increased 2.2% over the past 12 months. As such, the 2.5% COLA is currently outpacing inflation.
Yet that may not last depending on whether the Trump administration’s plans for tariffs go into effect. Trump announced on Wednesday that tariff rates for many countries will be dropped to 10% for 90 days to allow more time for negotiations.

Tariffs may affect 2026 Social Security COLA

If the tariffs are implemented as planned, economists expect they will raise consumer prices, which may prompt a higher Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2026 than currently projected.
“We could see the effect of inflation in the coming months, and it could very well be by the third quarter,” Johnson said.
If that happens, the 2026 COLA could go up to 2.5% or higher, she said.

Retirees are already struggling with higher costs for day-to-day items like eggs, according to the Senior Citizens League. Meanwhile, new tariff policies may keep food prices high and increase the costs of prescription drugs, medical equipment and auto insurance, according to the senior group.
Most seniors do not feel Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustments keep up with the economic realities of the inflation they personally experience, the Senior Citizens League’s polls have found, according to Alex Moore, a statistician at the senior group.
“Seniors generally feel that that the inflation they experience is higher than the inflation reported by the CPI-W,” Moore said.
When costs are poised to go up and the economic outlook is uncertain, seniors may be more likely to feel financial stress because their resources are more fixed and stabilized, he said. More

United Airlines planes land and prepare to take off at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, on Jan. 27, 2025.
Fabrizio Bensch | Reuters

Stocks with the largest percentage reversals Wednesday

Symbol
Name
RBICS Economy
Previous close
Intraday Low
Current price
Chg at low
% chg low to curr.

UAL
United Airlines Holdings, Inc.
Industrials
56.15
56
71.09
-0.27%
26.94%

MCHP
Microchip Technology Incorporated
Technology
35.34
35.1
44.5
-0.68%
26.78%

HWM
Howmet Aerospace Inc.
Industrials
114.62
102.61
127.16
-10.48%
23.93%

APA
APA Corporation
Energy
14.03
13.584
16.72
-3.18%
23.09%

KKR
KKR & Co Inc
Finance
94.51
91.5
112.15
-3.18%
22.56%

MU
Micron Technology, Inc.
Technology
65.54
63.7
78.03
-2.81%
22.49%

DAL
Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Industrials
35.88
36.555
44.67
1.88%
22.19%

MPWR
Monolithic Power Systems, Inc.
Technology
455.19
449.53
549
-1.24%
22.13%

SYF
Synchrony Financial
Finance
43.83
42.095
51.31
-3.96%
21.89%

ON
ON Semiconductor Corporation
Technology
31.95
31.68
38.59
-0.85%
21.81%

WBD
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Series A
Consumer Services
7.69
7.52
9.15
-2.21%
21.61%

ALB
Albemarle Corporation
Non-Energy Materials
50.76
50.235
61.07
-1.03%
21.57%

AMD
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Technology
78.21
78.87
95.37
0.84%
20.92%

NCLH
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
Consumer Services
15.54
15.235
18.41
-1.96%
20.84%

WDC
Western Digital Corporation
Technology
31.55
30.57
36.85
-3.11%
20.54%

RL
Ralph Lauren Corporation Class A
Consumer Cyclicals
182.34
176.61
212.57
-3.14%
20.36%

VST
Vistra Corp.
Utilities
102.19
99.2401
119.3
-2.89%
20.21%

DVN
Devon Energy Corporation
Energy
26.8
25.89
31.08
-3.40%
20.05%

NXPI
NXP Semiconductors NV
Technology
153.5
152.205
182.11
-0.84%
19.65%

TPL
Texas Pacific Land Corporation
Finance
1117.49
1070.76
1281.02
-4.18%
19.64%

WSM
Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
Consumer Cyclicals
139.21
133.57
159.76
-4.05%
19.61%

HAL
Halliburton Company
Energy
19.26
18.75
22.42
-2.65%
19.57%

ZBRA
Zebra Technologies Corporation Class A
Technology
213.54
205.73
245.93
-3.66%
19.54%

LYB
LyondellBasell Industries NV
Non-Energy Materials
53.23
51.11
61.07
-3.98%
19.49%

SWKS
Skyworks Solutions, Inc.
Technology
49.2
49.13
58.65
-0.14%
19.38%

APO
Apollo Global Management Inc
Finance
110.41
108.1
128.97
-2.09%
19.31%

KLAC
KLA Corporation
Technology
599.51
597.35
712.58
-0.36%
19.29%

HPE
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.
Technology
12.51
12.15
14.48
-2.88%
19.14%

CCL.U
Carnival Corporation
Consumer Services
16.69
16.61
19.79
-0.48%
19.11%

DOW
Dow, Inc.
Non-Energy Materials
25.81
25.06
29.84
-2.91%
19.07%

Source: FactSet

United Airlines, Microchip and others would suffer under a global trade war that has dampened consumer confidence and curtailed spending. Delta Air Lines recently said it would not reaffirm its financial guidance for the full year, citing uncertainty caused by higher U.S. tariffs on imports.
Microchip and rivals such as ON Semiconductor, which soared 21.8% from its lows of the day, have slumped since the market peaked in February, despite semiconductors being excluded from the tariff increases, hurt by concern that the economy would slow and demand for chips would weaken.
In Wednesday’s historic afternoon rally, the S&P 500 soared as much as 10%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 3,100 points, or about 8.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped as much as 12.7%, its second-largest gain ever.
“The market’s move upward is violent, and speaks to how badly the market was looking for clarity” on tariff policy, said Chris Brigati, chief investment officer at investment firm SWBC. “It appears President Trump’s motivation to get trade counterparts to the negotiating table is bearing fruit and that is a constructive development for the ongoing trade war.”

Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO More

President Donald Trump
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

Investors who followed President Donald Trump’s blunt advice to buy stocks on Wednesday morning received a windfall when the president hours later rolled back some of his market-roiling tariffs.
At 9:37 a.m. ET, just minutes after the opening bell, Trump posted on Truth Social that “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!” That post ended with the letters “DJT,” which is both the president’s initials and the ticker for Trump Media & Technology, the parent company of Truth Social that he holds a majority stake in.

THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT

President Donald Trump (on Truth Social)

Theoretically, for anyone who bought into the market that minute on Trump’s urging, they netted a big return. Stocks shot up in a historic reversal in afternoon trading after Trump announced a walkback on some tariffs, a stark turn after the unveiling of his plan to tax imports last week torpedoed the market.
Here’s what returns would look like for some key names if you bought in at 9:37 a.m. ET and sold at session highs for each respective holding:
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPDR), which tracks the namesake benchmark index, traded as low as $494.11 in that minute. The SPY climbed to $548.62 at session highs, reflecting an 11% jump from where it sat when Trump sent out his advice to buy.
If you invested $1,000 at that moment, you could have sold for as much around $1,110 when the holding hit its peak of the session.
The SPY finished the session higher by 10.5%, which was its biggest one-day gain since 2008.

Stock chart icon

The SPY, 1-day

Trump Media & Technology shares initially popped after Trump referenced his initials in the post, with some investors appearing to know he was referring to the stock ticker.
The stock fell to $16.69 in the minute of his post to buy shares. It has since soared a high as $20.40, which marks a jump of around 22.2%. The stock finished the session up more than 21%, its strongest day this year.
If you poured $1,000 into the stock in the minute of Trump’s post, you could have sold for about $1,222 at highs of the day.

Stock chart icon

Trump Media & Technology, 1-day

Tesla is another stock that has become intertwined with the Trump administration, given CEO Elon Musk’s role leading its controversial government efficiency initiative. Tesla dealerships have been protested and vandalized by apparent critics of Musk’s foray into government.
The electric vehicle maker’s shares traded as low as $226.27 in the minute of Trump’s post. It surged as high as $274.69 in afternoon trading, reflecting a 21.4% gain. Tesla shares soared more than 22% in the trading day as a whole, recording its best session since 2013.
If you invested $1,000 when Trump’s post hit, you could have sold for around $1,214 at session highs.

Stock chart icon

Tesla, 1-day

To be sure, stocks remain under pressure compared with where they sat before Trump’s initial announcement of broad and steep levies last week. Even including the S&P 500’s jump of more than 9% on Wednesday, the index is still down 3% compared with a week ago.
Forums for retail investors like Reddit’s WallStreetBets page were abuzz as investors reacted to the news. One user called themselves “psychic” after after saying that they invested a retirement account holding into the market on Tuesday.
Others weren’t so elated, with multiple commenters on a popular post sharing the update equating Trump’s actions to market manipulation.
“Can you imagine the insider trading?,” another user wrote. “Like if you are inside the white house and don’t come out of this a brazillionai[r]e you are literally the dumbest person on the planet.” More

The Social Security Administration provided more information on new identity proofing policies set to go into effect on Monday.
The agency will now continue to allow more types of beneficiary applicants to apply by telephone. However, those who are flagged will be required to visit an agency office in person.

A sign for the U.S. Social Security Administration is seen outside its headquarters in Woodlawn, Md., on Thursday, March 20, 2025.
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

New anti-fraud protections are slated to go into effect on Monday at the Social Security Administration.
Ahead of the new policy, an agency spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday that all claim types can still be completed over the telephone, including retirement, survivor and spousal or children’s benefits. Previously, the SSA said those applicants would need to visit an agency office in person for identity proofing.

Individuals making other benefit claims — including for Social Security disability insurance, Medicare and Supplemental Security Income — can also complete their claims entirely over the telephone, which is in line with the agency’s previous guidance, according to the spokesperson.
The Social Security Administration’s update did not mention changes to direct deposit information, which it had previously said would now require in-office visits.
More from Personal Finance:Selling out during the market’s worst days can hurt you3 strategies to keep your money safe amid market volatilityDon’t miss these tax strategies during the tariff sell-off
The agency’s new anti-fraud efforts come as new leadership under the Trump administration’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency is broadly seeking to curb waste, fraud and abuse across federal government agencies.
The SSA is implementing the new anti-fraud procedures, including stricter identity verification, as the agency faces website outages and long wait times on its 800 number, potentially forcing more people to visit offices for assistance.

Social Security experts and advocates have raised concerns that the new policies may make accessing benefits more difficult for vulnerable populations, particularly seniors and people with disabilities.
However, the Social Security Administration’s update is a positive development, said Bill Sweeney, senior vice president of government affairs at AARP. He did add that it would be more ideal if the policy and timeline were reconsidered for better outcomes.
“This seems like a pretty good and encouraging signal that they’re listening to folks, that they’re that they’re open to pivoting and reconsidering how to roll these things out and looking at new ideas for how to implement it,” Sweeney said.

Some beneficiaries will still need to visit offices

As the Social Security Administration starts to perform anti-fraud checks over the phone, some claims will be flagged for fraud risks, according to the agency.
Those claimants who are flagged will be required to visit a Social Security Administration office in person for their claim to be processed.
The agency estimates that about 70,000 claimants may be flagged out of 4.5 million telephone claims per year.
Benefit applicants who are not flagged will be able to complete their claims completely over the telephone.
“Telephone remains a viable option to the public,” the Social Security Administration posted on X on Tuesday.
Prior to the Social Security Administration’s update that expands the claim types that can be completed over the phone, the agency had reportedly estimated about 75,000 to 85,000 more people per week may visit its offices in-person.

Online applications may be difficult for many seniors and individuals with disabilities, who may lack access to the necessary resources or know how to navigate the processes, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute.
More than 10% of seniors in 35 states would need to travel more than 45 miles to get to the closest Social Security office, according to a new analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
About 6 million seniors don’t drive, while almost 8 million older Americans have a medical condition or disability that makes it difficult for them to travel, according to the research from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Many beneficiaries already face obstacles getting through to the Social Security’s phone lines to make an in-person appointment and then need to drive to a field office, said Kathleen Romig, director of Social Security and disability policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Generally, individuals need to call for an appointment, though the agency does urge beneficiaries to first try seeking help online.

‘Fear and concern among many older Americans’

Both experts and advocates take issue with the tight timeline under which the policy changes are being implemented.
“If you’re asking seniors and other SSA customers to do something different, you need to provide enough time for them to understand what it is they need to do,” Romig said.
The AARP sent a letter on Monday to Social Security Administration acting commissioner Lee Dudek urging the agency to “halt changes to phone services,” which will “only exacerbate the ongoing customer service crisis,” wrote Nancy LeaMond, chief advocacy and engagement officer.
Instead, the new policy changes should be done more deliberately, with public input, a clear communication strategy and reasonable timeline, the AARP explained in the letter.
The changes set to go into effect on Monday come as Social Security’s website has recently repeatedly crashed, phone service hold times have increased and in some cases disconnected callers, while field offices also have long in-person waits, LeaMond said in the letter.
“This chaotic environment is fueling fear and concern among many older Americans,” LeaMond wrote. More