Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 22, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Belgian retail investors sold shares amid tariff uncertainty, with FSMA noting a high transaction volume in early 2025.
(Reuters) -Retail investors in Belgium were net sellers of shares in the last three months, a period marked by high uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, said the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) on Tuesday.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT:
The data highlights how uncertainty over Trump's tariffs has caused many retail investors to cash in on their stock market portfolios, in case of a prolonged market downturn.
The UBS 2025 Wealth Report ranked Belgium among Europe's top six wealthiest countries, with an average wealth per adult of around $349,000 - only surpassed by Switzerland, Luxembourg, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway.
KEY QUOTE:
"Belgian investors were net sellers of shares in the run up to and in the days following the announcement of import tariffs," said the FSMA.
BY THE NUMBERS
Belgian retail investors carried out more than 1.17 million share transactions in the first quarter of 2025, the highest number since the first quarter of 2023, with the total value of sales exceeding that of purchases, said the FSMA.
Belgium is introducing capital gains taxes on share sales from January 1 2026, although the first 10,000 euros ($11,700) of gains each year will be exempt.
($1 = 0.8541 euros)
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-GuptaEditing by Tomasz Janowski)
Belgian retail investors were net sellers of shares in the last three months, largely due to uncertainty over U.S. tariffs.
Belgian retail investors carried out more than 1.17 million share transactions in the first quarter of 2025, the highest since early 2023.
Belgium will introduce capital gains taxes on share sales starting January 1, 2026, with the first 10,000 euros of gains each year exempt.
According to the UBS 2025 Wealth Report, Belgium is among Europe's top six wealthiest countries, with an average wealth per adult of around $349,000.
The FSMA noted that Belgian investors were net sellers of shares leading up to and following the announcement of import tariffs.
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