Rockefeller CEO Greg Fleming on Economic Uncertainty and Tariffs

Client Base and Market Sentiment

• 🎯 Rockefeller Capital Management advises high net worth and ultra-high net worth American families, focusing on long-term investment and generational planning.
• 💡 Clients are generally advised to remain steady and not react to short-term market fluctuations, but uncertainty is a pervasive theme affecting new investment decisions and confidence.
• ⚠️ A recent quick and severe downturn in April, coupled with market noise, led to caution among clients, though the market has since rebounded.

The US Economy's Strengths and Challenges

• 🚀 The US economy is expected to remain the world's largest and most dynamic, driven by innovation in areas like AI, technology, and biopharma.
• 📈 In recent years, the US market attracted a disproportionately high percentage of global capital flows (over 70%), a trend that was due for a pullback and rebalancing.
• 🌎 This adjustment was anticipated, with capital flows expected to diversify to other regions, but the tariffs emerged as a significant and dramatic trigger for this shift.

Impact of Tariffs on Businesses

• ⚠️ Small businesses are particularly vulnerable to the impact of tariffs, as they cannot easily absorb sudden increases in the cost of goods sold.
• 📉 While large companies can sometimes manage or pass on costs, small businesses face significant challenges when costs rise by 50% or more, an impact that is still unfolding.
• 🤝 Rockefeller Capital Management, through its investment banking capability, advises families who have built wealth through businesses and acknowledges their significant concerns regarding the level of tariffs and the desire for a rollback and improved bilateral relations, especially with China.