According to The Wall Street Journal, the Trump family's investment account saw a significant increase in trading activity in 2025, with more than 21,000 trades throughout the year.

Source: Jinshi Data

According to The Wall Street Journal, after Trump returned to the White House in early 2025, the Trump family began to adopt automated trading strategies. A spokesperson for the Trump Organization stated that this move was to alleviate concerns about potential conflicts of interest.

Most of Trump's wealth is held in a revocable trust. Trump is the sole beneficiary of the trust, while Donald Trump Jr. serves as the trustee and has independent voting rights.

A female White House spokesperson stated in a statement: "All of the president's assets are held in a fully discretionary account managed by an independent third-party financial institution. There are no conflicts of interest."

Trump himself has also claimed that his sons are responsible for investment during his term. "My kids are managing it," he said earlier this month in an interview with CNBC. "I made a lot of money, much more than I initially thought, I let others invest, I don’t even talk to them."

Automated trading amplifies account trading volume

The surge in Trump’s stock trading volume has been reflected in recently disclosed financial reports, attracting the attention of government ethics oversight bodies. The latest report shows that his trading volume increased sharply last year, exceeding 21,000 trades. Charles Schwab has become one of the most relied-upon financial institutions for the Trump family and is also one of the core asset management institutions for related trading activities.

According to insiders, among the eight investment accounts listed in Trump's annual financial report, the account managed by Charles Schwab, identified only as "Account Number Seven," holds the most funds based on the minimum value allocated per holding.

Some insiders claim that UBS and JPMorgan are also financial institutions managing investment accounts for the first family.

One of the strategies employed by the Trump family is called "direct indexing." This strategy purchases stocks that track the performance of certain indices, such as the S&P 500 or Schwab 1000 index, while also generating losses through trading to offset capital gains tax.

These automated strategies involve continuous and large trading of stocks throughout the year to track relevant indices. Any new cash inflow into the account is also quickly redeployed.

Last August, a ruling by a New York appellate court prompted the rapid operation of Trump’s Charles Schwab account. A panel of several judges overturned a $500 million penalty ruling against Trump’s family business by New York Attorney General Letitia James in a fraud case.

According to insiders, Trump's trust fund had previously set aside funds in a Charles Schwab account to pay this penalty. The ruling released this portion of cash, allowing it to be invested.

Within just a few days, as the automated trading strategy began to operate, the Charles Schwab account made large buy and sell transactions of dozens of stocks. On and after the day of the court ruling in August, "Account Number Seven" was also among the top in trading volume.

The involvement of Charles Schwab in the New York case arose because the Trump family deposited $175 million into an account as collateral for a penalty guarantee after losing the preliminary trial.

After the penalty ruling was overturned, a new round of stock trading was triggered. The appellate court also upheld the finding of fraud liability, and the case is currently submitted for review by the state's highest court.

Last year, Charles Schwab also provided more than $50 million in pledged asset credit limits for the Trump trust. Trump's financial disclosure report shows that this credit limit exists in the form of a pledged asset credit product with Charles Schwab.

This product allows clients to borrow against stock and bond holdings as collateral. However, such loans cannot be used to purchase more securities.

Trust arrangements, tax benefits, and market volatility

Melissa Rodriguez, a partner at Day Pitney law firm, pointed out that there is a key difference between revocable trusts and the so-called "secret trusts" sometimes established by public officials.

In a secret trust, the designated independent trustee holds complete control. Beneficiaries are not allowed to provide any opinions and may not even know what is being bought or sold.

Rodriguez stated: "The goal is to ensure they are truly not affected by their investments, because they do not know what those investments are at all."

She noted that revocable trusts are a standard tool in estate planning. The grantor can retain control during their lifetime and can modify, revoke, or freely transfer in and out assets.

Eric Trump has stated that the transactions disclosed in Trump’s filings are executed by the financial institutions managing the trust accounts.

"These institutions have sole and exclusive authority over all investment decisions, including asset allocation, trading, rebalancing, and portfolio management," Eric Trump wrote in a post on the X platform in May of this year.

The eight accounts disclosed in Trump’s annual report held at least $858 million in assets in 2025, up from at least $237 million a year earlier. The report also shows that Trump earned $2.2 billion in income in the first year of his second term, reflecting huge gains from his cryptocurrency investments.

Financial disclosures show that the Trump family made a net profit of $1.4 billion from cryptocurrency in 2025. Matt Chancey, founder of Tax Alpha Companies, stated that stock investment losses generated by direct indexing strategies can be used to offset capital gains anywhere in the portfolio, including from crypto assets and corporate sale proceeds.

Joe Smith, investment director at Parti Pris Investment Partners, noted that direct indexing projects typically see frequent trading during periods of heightened market volatility.

"When the market becomes turbulent or declines, you will see increased trading activity," Smith said. "During the year we have experienced, direct indexing advisors found good opportunities."

In early April, Trump announced tariffs on imports from almost all of America’s trading partners, causing the stock market to plummet. This triggered a trading opportunity as a result of Trump's own policies.

On April 3 and April 4, Trump’s investment accounts traded hundreds of stocks. On April 8, these accounts made significant purchases.

As of the week of April 8, about 80% of the trading occurred in the Charles Schwab accounts. Shortly thereafter, on April 9, Trump decided to delay the tariffs by 90 days, and the market quickly stabilized from the sell-off, with the S&P 500 closing at a record high by the end of June.

Charles Schwab is one of the leading firms in the brokerage industry and a pioneer in low-cost trading. Unlike banking giants like JPMorgan and Capital One, the company has not been accused by the Trump family due to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

According to insiders, Charles Schwab founder Charles "Chuck" Schwab occasionally appears alongside Trump. He has long advocated for government-supported retirement plans, including mandatory savings plans requiring employers to contribute to employee accounts.

This concept draws from Australia's pension system. Trump referred to this system during a speech in the Oval Office on Monday.