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This is how to protect your money in a trade war, analysts say

Key Points
  • If a trade war over President Donald Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs does occur, here is how to protect your money, according to several analysts.
  • Identify risks, diversify your portfolio and put financials and technology, the analysts say.
Trade turmoil and tariffs impacting the market
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Trade turmoil and tariffs impacting the market

As tariff talk heats up, so do fears of a trade war.

"There's no winner when you have a tariff battle, because typically you get retaliation," Joe Duran, founding partner and chief executive officer of United Capital, said Tuesday on CNBC's "Power Lunch."

But if President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs — 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum — happen and a trade war becomes a reality, financial experts have some tips on how to protect your assets.

1. Identify Risks

Reassess the existing risk in your portfolio, Duran said.

"Look at the beta on your portfolio," he said. "Make sure your mix of cash, bonds and stocks reflects something you can stand through, regardless of what the market does."

2. Diversify your portfolio

There are many areas you can invest in, Duran said.

"Interestingly enough, if we have tariffs, small caps will do better, because they don't typically have as much complexity as these mega caps," he said.

Duran also recommends investing in stocks. "Look at companies that benefit from a weakening dollar," he said. "All of this [trade wars] eventually is not going to change the trend, which we've seen, which is a weakening dollar."

3. Put money in financials and technology

Financials and technology are still good places to be, said Kirk Hartman, global chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Asset Management.

"Technology is what's driving this entire economy, and in a lot of ways is driving the market," Hartman told said on "Power Lunch." "Technology, per say, is not really affected by tariffs."

Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott, also said on the program that software technology "tends to get a disproportional benefit from capital expenditures by businesses that have age capital stocks."

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