Trump goes on $100 million bond buying spree: Here’s what it could signal about future interest rates

Trump put millions of dollars behind his bond strategy in February including between $500,000 and $1 million each into bonds issued by companies such as Home Depot, T-Mobile, and United Healthcare. Another bet of between $250,000 and $500,000 went into debt issued by Meta, based on a CNBC calculation of 690 transactions reported to the Office of Government Ethics since January and published Tuesday. He has also bought debt issued by local U.S. governments, gas districts, water supply districts, hospital authorities, and school boards, according to CNBC. 

The White House did not immediately return Fortune‘s request for comment.

Investors usually turn to bonds because they are less volatile than stocks. Bonds are like a loan that pays out interest to an investor, usually semi-annually, over a defined period. Once that period ends and the bond reaches maturity, the investor gets their principal investment back.

Trump’s bond buying binge stands out because he, unlike other presidents, has not put his investments into a true blind trust. Otherwise, Trump’s bond purchases, whether directed by him or the person in charge of his finances, look like the typical bet of a deep-pocketed investor—one who thinks interest rates are set to fall, said Russell Rhoads, an associate clinical professor of financial management at Indiana University. 

Because bond prices typically rise when interest rates fall, it’s possible Trump made the bets hoping he could later sell the bonds at a profit. Rates are likely to drop faster for corporate bonds than for government bonds because they are riskier, said Rhoads. Trump’s insistent pressure for the Fed to cut rates could also be akin to him “talking his book,” added Rhoads. 

“You could take the way that he’s been pushing so hard for the Fed to cut rates as like a portfolio manager going on CNBC and talking positive about a stock that’s a big holding of theirs to try to get other people to buy it,” Rhoads told Fortune.

The Fed and interest rates

The Fed has held interest rates steady at between 4.25% and 4.5% since late 2024, although some investors are looking to the central bank’s September meeting for a possible rate cut.

Trump’s purchase of municipal bonds, issued by state and local governments, could also be part of the investment strategy, because the interest they yield is generally exempt from federal income taxes. A bond from an investor’s home state will generally be exempt from state taxes. With the stock market near all-time-highs, a preference for bonds could be wise.

“It’s just a logical portfolio management move, as opposed to, you know, something that he knows something about rates that the rest of us don’t know,” said Rhoads.

Trump has maintained ultimate control over his businesses and investments, while delegating responsibility for his business empire to his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. The president and his immediate family have reportedly profited $3.4 billion months into his term, especially from his crypto dealings, the New Yorker reported. The president and vice president are exempt from the main law aimed at preventing conflicts of interest by government officials.