Do Americans realize how poorly their stock market has performed since Trump took office?
u/No_Purpose8162 ·
Reddit — r/stocks
· March 20, 2026 at 18:50
· ⬆ 570 pts
· 💬 249 comments
| View on Reddit ↗
AI Summary
Summary
The author, a European investor, argues that the U.S. stock market's performance since January 2025 has been poor when measured in EUR, suggesting that any USD gains are primarily due to currency devaluation under the Trump administration.
The author's thesis is that the perceived strength of the U.S. market is an illusion created by a weakening dollar, and the "real" performance is negative for international investors.
Quality assessment: This is speculation and political commentary, not well-researched due diligence. The author's analysis is based on a very short time frame (less than 3 months) and a single data point (their personal ETF return in EUR), making it anecdotal noise rather than a robust market analysis.
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I’m French, but most of my investments are in U.S. ETFs and American stocks, and honestly, the currency effect has been brutal.
Since January 2025, the S&P 500 ETF I am investing in, is sitting at around -1.8% in EUR terms.
Since you’re earning and investing in USD, I guess the currency aspect doesn’t really matter much to you. And after a +15% year for the S&P 500, it’s easy to believe Trump’s lies that this market is “exceptional,” "maybe one of the best in US history".
But from my perspective, a big part of that performance looks like it’s been driven by Trump's USD devaluation rather than real gains.
So from your point of view, do you actually think the market has been strong since he took office, or is the performance overstated?
The S&P 500 is down -1.8% in EUR terms since January 2025, implying that USD-denominated gains are being eroded by currency devaluation. The author believes the market's performance is overstated and driven by currency manipulation rather than fundamental strength, making it an unattractive investment from a non-USD perspective. The post implies a bearish or at least cautious stance on the S&P 500, suggesting that the "real" returns are negative and the market is not as strong as it appears to US-based investors. The timeframe is extremely short (less than one quarter). Market performance could rebound. The currency effect could reverse. The author's premise that performance is solely due to devaluation may be incorrect.
This Reddit post, published March 20, 2026,
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discussing SPY.
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