UBS likes US stocks and bonds as Trump’s pro-business policies float all boats

UBS Asset Management is bullish on US equity and bond markets this year, saying President Donald Trump’s pro-business and deregulation policies would lift corporate earnings and support the world’s biggest economy.

“With Trump in office, I expect more noise and volatility with a wider range of outcomes,” Nicole Goldberger, the firm’s head of global portfolio management, said in an interview in Hong Kong late last month. “But it is important not to lose sight of the bigger picture. All of these powerful tailwinds support our bullish stance.”

The New York-based fund manager oversees UBS’s US Growth and Income Strategy, a US$320 million balanced fund whose top equity holdings in December included Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon.com and Alphabet. It also held bonds sold by Uniti Group, Fortress Transport and Xerox, among others.

UBS maintained an overweight position on the information technology and communication services sectors, driven by strong earnings from the “Magnificent Seven” stocks including Meta Platforms and carmaker Tesla. The tech giants gained 51 per cent in the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 Index rose 22 per cent.

“When we look back over the last two years, the majority of the returns have been dominated by the ‘Magnificent Seven’,” she said.