Trump's account made 1,156 trades in July, shifting to AI hardware and defensive assets

The Nasdaq closed at 27,244.28 points on Tuesday, marking its second consecutive record closing high.

Meanwhile, Brent crude and WTI crude fell for a fifth straight trading day. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, though slightly lower, remained near 4.959%.

Despite macro constraints still lingering, U.S. tech stocks continue to climb. The Nasdaq 100 has outperformed non-AI sectors for four consecutive trading days. Goldman Sachs has dubbed this rally a FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) rally.

Barclays' Emmanuel Cau offered another explanation: after deleveraging in June, tech stock positions are no longer as crowded. Combined with falling oil prices and U.S.-China AI developments, buying interest has returned.

Michael Zigmont of Visdom Investment Group put it more bluntly: "Monday felt like everyone jumped back into the pool. A new momentum cycle for tech stocks may have just begun."

Trump's Portfolio Disclosures Amid Market Highs

As the market hit new highs, the latest activity in former President Trump's accounts was disclosed.

According to documents released by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics in September, Trump's accounts executed 1,156 securities transactions in July.

Based on disclosed value ranges, total buy and sell volume was approximately $79 million to $270 million. The documents only disclose ranges, not exact amounts, so this figure represents the aggregate of transaction value brackets—not net purchases or profits.

In all of last year, Trump's accounts executed over 21,000 transactions. By contrast, in his first year in office (2017), only 86 stock transactions were disclosed—a stark difference in scale.

While the official statement claims these trades are "automatically executed by independent institutions and quantitative models," the portfolio's adjustments nonetheless reveal sharp market instincts and industrial foresight, with three clear strategic themes.

Theme 1: Precision Rotation in Tech

On July 20, a key date, the accounts executed their largest monthly sell-off, dumping shares of Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle, with individual trades reaching up to $25 million.

However, the accounts did not exit tech entirely. Instead, they bought into Nvidia, Marvell Technology, and Salesforce.

In hindsight, several of these tech purchases caught the subsequent rally. Using closing prices on July 20 as a baseline, by September 22:

• Marvell Technology rose from $193 to $262.36, a gain of 39%
• Salesforce rose from $167.56 to $233.28, a gain of 37%
• Nvidia rose from $205.64 to $228.87, a gain of 13%

In essence, this was a rotation from high-valuation software applications into AI-driven computing and hardware infrastructure. Three days after selling Microsoft and Amazon, the accounts made symbolic repurchases in small amounts, demonstrating highly flexible management.

Theme 2: Coincidental "Policy-Synced" Trades

Also on July 20, the portfolio fully exited defense contractor Northrop Grumman. Coincidentally, that same day marked the signing of a U.S. executive order tightening supply chain requirements for defense contractors.

Notably, in February, the accounts had invested in Axon Enterprises, a Taser manufacturer—a move closely aligned with the expansion of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, effectively betting on stronger domestic security policies.

Theme 3: Defensive Positioning in Fixed Income and Passive Assets

While aggressively rotating in tech and defense, the accounts also built defensive positions:

• Buys: Short-duration bond ETFs, dividend growth ETFs, communication services index ETFs, and multiple municipal bonds including Miami-Dade County aviation revenue bonds.
• Sells: Partial liquidation of U.S. Treasury ETFs and international government bond ETFs.

This "barbell strategy"—seeking excess returns in tech while locking in high-yield cash flows in fixed income—significantly strengthened the portfolio's safety cushion.

A Highly Institutionalized Operation

With over 21,000 transactions year-to-date, Trump's accounts have moved far beyond traditional personal wealth management. They now resemble a highly institutionalized, macro-sensitive operation.

The White House has stated that these assets are held in a trust, with investments managed by independent financial institutions and executed primarily through computer models. Trump and his family do not participate in specific investment decisions.

Nevertheless, Trump's trading activity has sparked widespread market discussion. This phenomenon reflects a broader shift: the U.S. market is becoming increasingly "tradable."

In recent years, the biggest change in U.S. equities has been the growing interconnection between policy, technology, and capital markets. Whether it's AI, tariffs, fiscal stimulus, the CHIPS Act, or tech regulation, nearly every policy shift now rapidly influences market sentiment.

Today, even the U.S. President's account trading records have become a focal point for market attention.

As more and more Wall Street traders joke: studying U.S. stocks now means not just analyzing earnings reports—but also studying the White House.