Investors are finally pulling back from US stocks amid uncertainty over president Donald Trump’s looming tariffs and potential for better gains in Europe and the UK.

A survey of investment management CIOs from Asset Risk Consultants (ARC) found that a third of wealth managers slashed exposure to the US throughout the last quarter.

Sentiment among the CIOs was four per cent net negative to US assets, down sharply from 36 per cent net positive a year ago.

This compared to a smaller drop in sentiment towards equities overall, from 40 per cent to 29 per cent net positive.

While many investment firms made no changes to their portfolios over the last year, those that did primarily reduced exposure to US stocks, especially large cap and tech stocks.

“This is the biggest negative sentiment quarter-on-quarter US swing we have seen since our Market Sentiment survey began in 2010,” said ARC deputy CIO James Cooke.

However, analysts have been keen to note that Trump’s tariffs have not been the only reason for a pivot away from the US.

Allianz has described this rotation away from American markets as a “vibe shift,” with Europe and the UK finally challenging the supremacy of the few US tech stocks.

With Trump’s return to the White House, many investors were expecting a repeat rally in US equities in the early days of his first term as president in 2017.