Market Data 
Many people could be left disappointed when they open their IRA statements in the coming days — and President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs threaten to make things even worse.
The S&P 500 fell 5% in the first three months of 2025, marking its worst quarter since 2022, while the Nasdaq Composite slumped 10% as stocks like Tesla plunged 36%.
Those declines have taken a bite out of many people’s investments in the stock market, and could disrupt their retirement plans if they continue.
“For the small investor, the decline in value will be devastating, particularly for retired baby boomers” who draw their incomes from their retirement accounts, Peter Ricchiuti, a senior professor of finance at Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business, told Business Insider.
The sell-off is partly in reaction to Trump’s topsy-turvy tariffs in recent weeks, which have made it “impossible” for business owners to make decisions, Ricchiuti said.
The former investment manager, who once oversaw Louisiana’s $3 billion portfolio as the assistant state treasurer, said that running a company has become a “game of Whack-A-Mole” because everyone is trying to guess which industry will be hit next.
Tariffs have landed
Trump unveiled tariffs of at least 10% on imports from all foreign countries on Wednesday, with higher rates for countries with a large trade deficit with the US. Goods from China, the number-two exporter to the US after Mexico, will be subject to a 54% tariff from April 9 if nothing changes.
The news sent S&P futures down more than 3% in premarket trading on Thursday, as key constituents Tesla and Nvidia tumbled 8% and 6% respectively.
Tariffs push up costs for companies and prices for consumers, while uncertainty discourages hiring, expansion, and spending. Those forces slow corporate earnings growth, eroding valuations and sending stocks lower, Ricchiuti said.
Strategists at Goldman Sachs cut their S&P 500 forecast last week, citing the incoming tariffs as their main rationale. They predicted the index would decline a further 5% this quarter and gain 6% over the next 12 months, down from 0% and 16%, respectively.
One pressing concern is that Trump ratcheting up import taxes will cause countries around the world to retaliate by imposing reciprocal tariffs on imports from the US. Ricchiuti said that’s one reason why tariffs never succeed in leveling terms of trade and instead act as “prosperity killers.”
During Trump’s first term, he imposed sweeping tariffs on goods ranging from steel and aluminum to solar panels and washing machines, and broad-based duties on imports from China. The tariffs led to material price increases and reductions in Americans’ real income, studies have found.
Anxiety abounds
Another worry for investors and everyday Americans alike is that if tariffs lead consumers to cut back on spending and companies to retrench, overall economic growth could suffer. Ricchiuti flagged there is mounting concern on Wall Street that Trump’s trade battles will “cause a recession or even the much-feared stagflation.”
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink described the national mood in his yearly letter on Monday.
“I hear it from nearly every client, nearly every leader — nearly every person — I talk to: They’re more anxious about the economy than any time in recent memory,” he wrote.
Another wave of tariff chaos is now threatening to hit stocks that have already retreated. The timing is terrible for boomers living off their nest eggs, who could see their retirement funds dwindle if they’re pulling money out at the same time their stock holdings are falling in value.
Ricchiuti bemoaned that the economy was on a good path with falling inflation and record corporate earnings and stock prices ahead of Trump’s inauguration.
“The worst part of all this is that these economic wounds are self-inflicted,” he said.
