Wall Street may be getting used to the uptick in volatility that started when President Donald Trump began implementing his tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico. But typical stockholders may not be faring that well, with the S & P 500 pulling back 3.9% in 2025. However, if investors had instead faded volatility and stuck with the Invesco S & P 500 Low Volatility ETF (SPLV) , they would be sitting on a 4.7% gain year-to-date. The SPLV has even outperformed over the past year with a gain of nearly 13% compared with about 9% for the broad market index. SPLV .SPX YTD mountain The broad market index has pulled back 4%, while the SPLV ETF that tracks the lowest volatility stocks in the S & P 500 has gained about 5%. SPLV tracks the S & P 500 Low Volatility Index, which is based on 100 stocks within the broad market index with the smallest realized volatility over the past 12 months. Its top holdings include the class B stock of Warren Buffett ‘s Berkshire Hathaway as well as Mastercard . That said, some traders have taken advantage of the unpredictability that has followed the on-again, off- again tariffs and rising and ebbing concerns about the potential for these levies to slow economic growth. They may even embrace Trump’s trade policy moves as they “make volatility great again .” The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) , Wall Street’s fear gauge, has increased nearly 18% in 2025 and more than 4% in March alone. Notably, however, volatility isn’t as jarring as it has been in the past when market corrections have occurred, according to Joseph Cusick, Calamos Research senior vice president and portfolio specialist. Last week, the S & P 500 fell more than 10% from its record high to briefly enter correction territory. The index has since come back from this point. “Typically, such corrections lead to higher spikes in the VIX, reflecting increased market fear and volatility. However, this time, the VIX level and its range during the sell-off have remained significantly lower than usual,” Cusick told CNBC. “This suggests that while the market has corrected, the level of panic and fear among investors is not as high as it typically would be during such corrections.” The anomaly may suggest “investors might be more confident about the market’s stability despite the recent decline,” he said. Equities were higher on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision . Investors will be listening to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’ s comments for potential insight into how the economy is faring in the context of Trump’s trade war.
