They’re Invested: SM East students have been able to capitalize off of the stock market’s uncertainty following the announcement of U.S. tariffs in the market

Student investors at SM East checked their phones in dismay on April 2, as the value of their investments plummeted.

A wave of concern shook the investing world when President Donald Trump announced his tariffs — 34% on China, 20% on the European Union and more. It fostered uncertainty for the future of the students’ investments comparable to the negative effects COVID-19 had on the stock market, as stock prices plunged low.

Still, the “buy low, sell high” sentiment influenced some students at East to take advantage of what was a nightmare for many who invest.

After the tariffs were announced and stock values began to decrease, a 90-day pause was announced on the tariffs, according to investing teacher Kevin Wiesner. The stock market has seen a general increase in prices since.

Senior Luke LaHue was one of the students who took advantage of the situation. LaHue began his investing career as a sophomore after taking Wiesner’s investing class, and LaHue has been building his portfolio ever since.

“Investing [class] was really, really good, because it kind of pushed me into the financial world, which is what I’m majoring in college next year,” LaHue said.

On April 9 at 11 a.m. when stock prices were low, LaHue put around $900 into four stocks — Tesla, Nvidia, Apple and Amazon. Just two hours later, the pause was announced on the tariffs, and the stock market responded.

“Everything just skyrocketed,” LaHue said.

He came out of that day with roughly $150 in profit, which he decided not to sell in hopes of letting the stocks increase in value.

Another student who has made profit since the tariffs were announced was junior Cade Wildman. Wildman has been investing since middle school. Once he saw stock prices were low, he remembered the investing advice his father gave him.

“My dad pushes me to try to buy when stuff like that happens because it obviously always kind of works itself out in the long run,” Wildman said.

He purchased shares of companies, such as Apple, and he invested into index funds like the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF.

The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF, invests in different companies that cover a variety of industries, while the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF invests money in the 500 largest U.S. companies. An ETF is similar to an index fund but functions more like an individual stock.

“There was one day where it [the value] kind of went up by a lot,” Wildman said.

After the 90-day pause was announced, Wildman came out with an 8% increase in profit from the stocks he purchased.

Freshman Brooks McClellan has also been investing since seventh grade. His parents and neighbors were involved in investing, leading McClellan to develop an interest for it.

McClellan recalls once the tariffs were announced, it caused his biggest loss to date. The value of McClellan’s investments dropped around 20%.

He invested in healthcare stocks such as the Hospital Corporation of America. McClellan’s gains have been gradual, with profit of around $30 so far in HCA. But the value keeps increasing.

However, not every investor at East has been able to take advantage of the market’s volatility.

Junior Chander Desai began his investing journey in 2022 when his father, who works in finance, gifted him $3,000 to invest.

When the tariffs were announced his investment portfolio suffered greatly.

“In January my portfolio was up to like 40% and then now it’s at like 5%,” Desai said.

Desai decided not to purchase any stocks after the tariffs were announced.

Although the students’ investing gains are still small, the students hope to see their investments rise above the situation and make the most of their misfortune.

“Things will go back up eventually,” Wiesner said.