Ask a financial planner if you should go on a buying or selling spree after the Donald Trump administration\u2019s operation in Venezuela, and you\u2019ll get a lecture about not getting distracted by single news stories.<\/p>\n
Still, if you believe U.S. foreign policy<\/a> has fundamentally shifted, what actions should you take in reviewing your retirement investments<\/a>?<\/p>\n Many investors don\u2019t realize that many of the same giant companies appear in several of their index funds, hiding how over-exposed they are to a few corporations.<\/p>\n For example, say you own index funds that mirror the S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Russell 1000. Apple (AAPL) makes up a disproportionate percentage of each of those indexes.<\/p>\n These mega-cap companies also tend to have interlinked supply chains stretching across many countries. Continuing the Apple example, the tech giant relies heavily on parts produced in both Taiwan and China, and that says nothing of its sales in those countries. If China invades Taiwan, disrupting Taiwanese production and triggering massive Western sanctions on China, what happens to Apple\u2019s stock<\/a>?<\/p>\n If that hypothetical sounds unrelated to Venezuela, think again.<\/p>\n Trending Now: Trump\u2019s Budget \u2014 What It Means for Your Retirement, by Age<\/a><\/p>\n Find Out: How Middle-Class Earners Are Quietly Becoming Millionaires \u2014 and How You Can, Too<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe Maduro capture is not a \u2018one-off,’\u201d explains Arie Brish<\/a>, business professor at St. Edward\u2019s University. \u201cIt ripples across other geopolitical tensions including China and Taiwan, Russia and Ukraine, and the flow of cheap black market oil to China and Iran. The Trump administration gained confidence in its foreign policy forays, which might embolden it to take other risky actions.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether you agree or disagree with the administration\u2019s foreign policy stances, they have certainly become less predictable than previous presidencies. And unpredictability adds risk<\/a>.<\/p>\n Again, diversification helps. Investors looking at their 401(k) investments should consider including more international stocks. Despite the S&P 500 returning a total of around 16.4% in 2025 per CNB Bank & Trust<\/a>, international stocks outperformed it in the first year of the new Trump administration, with the STOXX Europe 600 returning 19.0%.<\/p>\n