Though President Donald Trump has said his aggressive tariff strategy, unveiled this week, will make the markets “boom,” it has so far resulted in a rout, with U.S. equity markets suffering their worst week since March 2020 and more pain likely on the way. And that’s sending ultra-wealthy investors to seek refuge from the financial storm abroad.

The average tariff rate is even higher than in the 1930s, “which means there is no modern-day precedent to predict the economic hit,” says Larry Adam, chief investment officer at Raymond James. The U.S. markets have been tanking in the aftermath, and analysts including from JPMorgan are ringing alarm bells about a potential recession this year. The preeminence and exceptionalism of the U.S. is now being questioned.

Investors are reacting accordingly. Worried about the effects of tariffs and other moves by the Trump administration that could hurt growth in the U.S.—such as defunding research efforts around the country—ultra high net worth and family office investors are rethinking their positions here, at least in the short term.

“We’ve seen a growing interest among high-net-worth family office clients in diversifying a portion of their portfolios outside the United States,” says Jon Ulin, private wealth advisor at Ulin & Co. Wealth Management. “This trend is largely driven by concerns over policy uncertainty and potential economic or market disruptions.”

Of course, many of these wealthy investors already hold sizable investments and real estate holdings abroad, particularly those who were born in another country or have dual citizenship somewhere. But the uncertainty now plaguing the U.S. economy is causing them to double down on looking for better growth opportunities and hedges abroad. Ulin’s team is now tilting managed portfolios more international than U.S. “to better navigate the trade war fall out of domestic stocks and the markets.”

“For them, investing internationally is not just about diversification, it serves as a currency hedge and provides access to government bonds and equities that may not be readily available in U.S. markets,” says Ulin.

At a media event Thursday, Goldman Sachs representatives said they are watching Trump’s moves closely. Many of their ultra-high net worth (UHNW) clients are asking for guidance, though they haven’t fled from U.S. equities just yet. But non-U.S. equities have outperformed so far this year, and broader diversification in general is a goal for the firm. Still, the firm is bullish on U.S. long-term given the country’s ability to innovate.

“There’s still some belief that even if things look murky in the U.S. … the U.S. may end up better than other countries on the other side of the tariffs,” said Elizabeth Burton, senior client investment strategist at Goldman Sachs.

That said, many UHNW clients were thinking of moving money out of the U.S. even before Trump’s so-called Liberation Day. Europe, for example, may be more attractive given its increase in defense spending. In Asia, India is attracting Goldman’s attention.

“For so long, being long the U.S., and particularly large cap U.S., was was the right investment,” said Matt Gibson, Goldman’s global head of the Client Solutions Group. “A lot of our clients in Q4 [2024], as they saw the election happen and so forth, started to wonder if keeping that trade on was the right thing to do.”

Tariff uncertainty is pushing those conversations into overdrive.

“The world has changed in the last three months in a material way,” said Marc Nachmann, Goldman’s global head of asset & wealth management. “Our conversations with clients right now include … how should we think about these tariffs? How should they make us rethink how we allocate all of our assets?”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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Have you ever thought about how much time you spend on Spotify, that is, actually inside the Spotify app? It’s easy to get lost for 30 minutes on TikTok or Instagram, but you probably don’t have the same instinct for the Swedish streaming app. 

Spotify, though, is keen to remind the advertising world just how much time their listeners spend actually navigating the app. 

A music app designed to operate in the background isn’t an obvious target market for advertisers, who would be inclined to regard the app’s users as passive or unengaged.

This could explain why the streaming platform’s ad revenue is so low. Spotify made $1.85 billion from ad-supported revenue in 2024, a fraction of the $13.8 billion it raked in from premium subscribers. 

However, as part of a new drive to boost ad-supported revenue, Spotify is trying to convince advertisers that its listeners are anything but passive.

“It’s more nutritious… rather than these high-caloric, quick things,” Alex Norstrom, Spotify’s co-president and chief business officer, told the New York Times about the Spotify app. 

Norstrom elaborated that this included the “Jam” function, which forces listeners to turn both technical and collaborative to create the ideal group playlist. He also pointed to listeners wanting to discover more about their favorite podcaster or settling in for an extended audiobook session.

“People just feel good when they’re on Spotify,” Lee Brown, Spotify’s global head of advertising, said on Wednesday. “How many apps can say that?”

Spotify aims to grow its advertising revenue by increasing the amount of time its users spend on the app. To that end, the group enhanced its offering of podcasts with a video function, making it functionally comparable to YouTube.  

“The more content users stream, the more advertising inventory we generally have to sell,” the group wrote in its 2024 annual report.

Its strategy to do so, as Brown summarized, was to pitch itself as the alternative to “rotting and doom-scrolling.”

Spotify’s pitch for advertisers comes at a time when brands are thinking more intentionally about where they publicize themselves. Elon Musk went to war with advertisers last year after many pulled funding from his X platform as its content turned more toxic. They began to return in the wake of the election of Donald Trump, who was heavily supported by Muck.

The company has been more deliberate in its message to advertisers in recent months.

What Wednesday’s event sought to highlight was making it easier for advertisers to use the platform, including the use of Gen AI to power scripts and voiceovers in the U.S. and Canada.

In November last year, Spotify said 72% of Gen Z listeners viewed the app as the antidote to doom-scrolling, according to findings in its Culture Next Report. The report, aimed at advertisers, indicated Gen Z listeners favored brands that engaged with Spotify by creating playlists or sponsoring live music events. 

Spotify enjoyed a remarkable 2024 turnaround after rounding out 2023 with its largest-ever round of layoffs. The company enjoyed its first full year of profitability and saw its share price more than double last year.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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