Michael Taylor, 34, said he does not regret the move, which he thinks could save him tens of thousands of pounds

Michael Taylor says he was forced to move almost all of his savings he had earmarked for retirement – a six figure sum – from equities to cash after US President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs sent UK stocks into freefall.

The 34-year-old, based between London and Hartlepool, had also been “gradually de-risking” his investments ahead of Trump’s ‘liberation day’ on 2 April – the day he officially introduced aggressive tariffs on imports from countries around the world.

This sparked a global market sell-off, but Mr Taylor, who works as a trader, said the move could save him tens of thousands of pounds in the long run.

Speaking to The i Paper, he said: “I completely underestimated the extent of the tariffs, and so the value of my holdings started to plummet. To me, it was clear that the investing landscape has now changed forever.”

Until last week, his pension – saved into a self-invested personal pension – was fully invested in UK stocks, including major retailers and fashion names.

But by 4 April, he had moved almost all of it – 90 per cent – into safer cash investments.

He also had a stocks and shares ISA earmarked for retirement savings heavily invested in stocks, but has moved most of the money in this into cash too completing his “exit from the market.”

Some of his movements were made before markets started to fall, but some were made after, resulting in some losses from the peak of his investments.

He says he wishes he had done some more of the changes before liberation day.

He explained: “I started liquidating almost everything and completed my selling on Friday.

“I made the right call, but I should’ve been more active in selling before ‘liberation day’. It was a clear risk, and I just ignored it – like everyone else, it seems, given the sell-off.”

Mr Taylor is part of a growing wave of investors pulling out of equities in the wake of Trump’s economic nationalism – the belief that a nation’s economic interests should be prioritised over those of other countries.

The tariffs rattled markets around the world, especially in the UK, where exporters and luxury brands have been particularly hard hit.

Many were concerned about the hit to their investments – including their pension pots.
Mr Taylor, who runs the trading Instagram page Shifting Shares, added: “One of my ex-largest positions, Burberry, has completely cratered. I’m better off having sold.”

On the day he cashed in his pension, the FTSE 100 index touched a more than three-month low, down nearly 5 per cent – the largest daily drop since March 2020, when world markets slumped due to Covid.

While the decision to go into cash is often seen as a last resort, he believes it is the most rational play in the current climate.

“Trade will be much harder, and uncertainty has spiked. No company can plan given the tariff uncertainty. The whole investing landscape is different now.”

Mr Taylor said he does not usually track his account daily, only once a month or so, but began to shift his holdings after concern mounted about geopolitical tensions in the lead-up to the tariffs.

Despite this, he admitted he missed the signs, adding: “I wish I’d been more active earlier. Even as a trader, it’s easy to get lulled into a false sense of security.”
Less than 10 per cent of his pension remains invested at present, and he’s in no rush to re-enter the markets.

Experts warn against making rash decisions

Although many may be tempted to remove their funds from their investments, financial advisers tell savers not to make any “knee-jerk reactions” as cashing their pension in could mean they miss out on the latest bounce back.

Sir Steve Webb, former pensions minister and partner at LCP, said: “This is a reminder of the virtues of investing for the long-term and of diversifying across a range of assets and markets, and of the risks of knee-jerk reactions to short-term market swings”.

Tom Selby, director of public policy at AJ Bell, added: “While the circumstances are not normal, volatility has always been part and parcel of long-term investing.

“Just as the dips in value of funds off the back of the tariff announcement didn’t spell retirement disaster for the vast majority, the bounce back we have seen as a result of the tariff pause doesn’t amount to pensions ecstasy.

“Pension savers are usually looking to get returns over decades, so fluctuations over the space of a week can normally be ridden out without any fuss.”