CNBC has analyzed Trump's 2025 annual financial disclosure filings, cross-referencing institution-specific funds, deposit products, and credit agreements to confirm that JPMorgan Chase, Charles Schwab, UBS, and Stephens Inc. manage at least four of Trump's eight investment accounts.
Trump reported total assets of at least $858 million across eight accounts in 2025, with over 21,000 transactions executed throughout the year. The filing documents do not specify the exact role each institution plays—whether as investment manager, broker, custodian, or another function—leaving the boundaries of responsibilities unclear.
The majority of Trump's assets are held in a revocable trust, of which he is the sole beneficiary. This structure provides significantly weaker asset isolation than traditional blind trusts. The Trump Organization stated that all investment decisions are entirely delegated to external financial institutions, with investments heavily reliant on automated trading strategies. The White House has stated that no conflict of interest exists.
For years, the financial institutions managing Trump's vast investment portfolio have been one of the least understood aspects of his personal finances.
Reviewing Trump's 2025 annual financial disclosure report submitted to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, it has been determined that JPMorgan Chase, Charles Schwab, UBS, and Stephens Inc. are linked to accounts numbered 3, 5, 6, and 8 out of the eight disclosed accounts.
This identification was achieved by tracing institution-specific investment funds, deposit programs, and credit arrangements embedded within the accounts. Three financial industry experts, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the president's assets, independently reviewed the findings to corroborate the conclusions.
The disclosure documents do not explicitly detail the responsibilities of each institution, making it impossible to define their individual roles as investment managers, brokers, custodians, or other entities. Account No. 7 is also managed by Charles Schwab, though CNBC has not independently verified this information; Charles Schwab declined to comment on whether Trump is a client.
Aggregating all eight accounts, Trump reported assets of at least $858 million in 2025, a significant increase from $237 million the previous year, with over 21,000 securities transactions completed during the year.
This investigation is the first to clearly disclose the institutions managing Trump's assets, allowing the public to see the deep entanglement of the president's hundreds of millions in private wealth with Wall Street financial firms.
No evidence has been found that financial cooperation has influenced government policy, nor are there any indications that Trump personally issued any specific trading instructions.
The Trump Organization responded that all individual investment decisions are fully controlled by external financial institutions, and the president does not participate. A spokesperson explained that the president's assets are placed in discretionary accounts, with extensive use of automated investment strategies to minimize potential conflicts of interest.
When asked about Trump's banking relationships, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly stated: "There is no conflict of interest."
Even so, financial professionals interviewed noted that holding the president's assets places these institutions in a sensitive position. A sitting president with vast wealth can shape banking policy and regulatory rules while simultaneously holding massive domestic and international financial assets, creating a complex mix of benefits and risks for deeply entwined banks.
Ross Delston, a former bank regulator for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and a lawyer specializing in anti-money laundering regulations, analyzed that Trump's globally diverse business empire, his past legal and financial disputes, and his presidential authority over macroeconomic policy create "extremely high" compliance and reputational risks for partner banks. However, at the same time, banks can earn substantial service fees and gain direct access to a sitting president.
"Given Trump's history, it's quite intriguing that the banking industry is still willing to do business with him," Delston said. "Banks gain access to the U.S. president, and in the financial industry, this kind of network value is immeasurable."
He added: "From almost every compliance perspective, the U.S. president is an ultra-high-risk client."
JPMorgan Chase received detailed requests for comment multiple times but did not respond to the investigation's findings or methodology. Stephens Inc. declined to comment.
A UBS spokesperson issued a statement: "We have no comment on this." "In accordance with industry rules, we cannot discuss client privacy matters, regardless of whether a client relationship exists or ever existed."
On January 20, 2026, in New York City, the global headquarters of JPMorgan Chase. Trump has publicly criticized JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon, alleging the bank closed his accounts after the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, and has threatened to sue the giant bank.
Transaction Details Unpacked
Trump's previous filings showed only about 500 total transactions during his first presidential term. However, in 2025, the number of transactions exceeded 21,000. The Trump Organization stated that automated investment strategies are a core reason for the surge in trading volume.
Cross-referencing the transaction counts and amounts in the filing documents for each account, the vast majority of transactions occurred within the systems of Charles Schwab, UBS, and JPMorgan Chase.
Based on asset size and trading frequency, Charles Schwab is deeply involved in managing Trump's assets. CNBC confirmed that Charles Schwab manages Account No. 6, which holds assets of at least $163 million. Charles Schwab also manages Account No. 7.
According to CNBC's sources, Account No. 7 holds approximately $302 million in assets and executed about 10,500 transactions in 2025, accounting for nearly half of all Trump's disclosed trades, making it the most active account. It is heavily weighted in stocks of Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia.
Charles Schwab spokesperson Mayra Hooper responded: "Bound by regulations, our firm strictly adheres to client privacy policies and will not comment on any current or past clients." She declined to answer questions about Accounts 6 and 7, adding: "Charles Schwab serves 46 million accounts, and our clients come from diverse backgrounds, political views, and professions. We apply the same service standards to all clients."
Larry Harris, former chief economist of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, stated that for the ultra-wealthy, the size and trading activity of such accounts are not unusual, and it is quite common for millionaires to choose Charles Schwab to manage their assets. Harris, now a finance professor at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business, explained: "High-net-worth individuals often use this type of setup. Charles Schwab offers more competitive fees and allows clients to better control the timing of tax-loss harvesting."
The disclosure documents also reveal that Charles Schwab approved a securities-backed line of credit exceeding $50 million for this trust. The trust can borrow against its stock holdings without needing to sell securities for cash; the loan proceeds are generally prohibited from being used to purchase additional securities.
After the 2021 Capitol riot, the Trump family accused several banks of unilaterally cutting ties, including JPMorgan Chase and Capital One. Charles Schwab was not among the banks accused of unilaterally terminating services.
The period of high trading activity in Account No. 8, managed by JPMorgan Chase, coincidentally overlaps with the time when Trump accused the bank of "de-banking" him for political reasons.
Subsequently, Trump sued JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon for $5 billion. Trump alleged that the bank closed his and his company's accounts for political reasons and placed him on a banking blacklist. JPMorgan Chase did not respond to media inquiries but has previously denied all allegations, calling the lawsuit baseless.
The case is still pending, with the court yet to set a trial date. Currently, the judge is considering whether the case should remain in state court in Florida or be transferred to federal court in New York.
Beyond JPMorgan Chase, Charles Schwab, and UBS, the involvement of other institutions appears relatively limited.
Account No. 5, managed by Stephens Inc., holds between $1 million and $5 million in an automated sweep account. It also holds up to $66,001 in an FDIC-insured deposit product at Stifel. Financial experts interviewed believe this small balance is residual funds left over from transferring the account from Stifel to the Stephens system. Stifel did not respond to requests for comment.
Trump's disclosed Accounts 4 and 8 are allocated to Fidelity mutual funds, with underlying assets including large-cap stocks and municipal bonds.
An informed source who wished to remain anonymous stated: "The public disclosure documents show that the president's accounts are allocated to two Fidelity mutual funds."
On April 10, 2026, in Washington, Trump (right) and his son Eric Trump walked towards the Marine One helicopter to leave the White House for Charlottesville, Virginia.
Actual Control of Trading
Trump has stated that his family oversees the overall trust, with specific investments delegated to external institutions, but the list of partner banks has never been made public.
In an interview on July 2, Trump said: "My children handle the trust. I've made far more money than expected, and I leave the daily investing to professional institutions. I don't even communicate with the traders."
Eric Trump posted on social media platform X in May, stating that all investment decisions, including asset allocation, buying and selling, and portfolio rebalancing, are entirely and independently made by financial institutions.
The Trump Organization explained to CNBC that to minimize conflicts of interest, the investments heavily utilize direct indexing, a popular automated investment strategy among high-net-worth individuals.
The traditional approach is to buy index funds, while direct indexing involves purchasing a basket of individual stocks to track a benchmark like the S&P 500. Software automatically and continuously buys and sells, rebalancing the portfolio to keep its performance aligned with the index.
Harris commented: "The entire operation is driven by computer algorithms."
During periods of high market volatility, this model can generate a surge of transactions. Market fluctuations create more rebalancing opportunities, and selling losing stocks can realize tax losses.
For example, concentrated buying in Trump's portfolio occurred around the time of major tariff announcements. On April 2, 2025, Trump announced broad tariff increases, causing a sharp drop in U.S. stocks. A week later, most tariffs were temporarily paused, leading to a strong market rebound. Last week, Trump introduced a new large-scale tariff policy.
CNBC found no evidence that Trump or his family anticipated the tariff policies and manually directed trades in advance.
Harris analyzed: "The investments are managed by reputable trustees, making the probability of insider trading or personal profit extremely low. There is essentially no room for manipulation."
Direct indexing can leverage tax-loss harvesting for legal tax reduction. The software sells declining stocks to realize losses while simultaneously buying other, similar assets to maintain overall market exposure. These losses can offset capital gains elsewhere in the portfolio.
On March 20, 2023, in New York's financial district, the brand logo of a Charles Schwab branch.
Regulatory Framework
U.S. federal ethics regulations require that if a sitting president uses a blind trust to manage assets, the trust must be controlled by an independent trustee, with strict limits on communication between the beneficiary and the trustee regarding portfolio details.
However, according to Securities and Exchange Commission documents, the vast majority of Trump's assets are placed in a revocable trust, of which he is the sole beneficiary. Donald Trump Jr. serves as the trustee, holding sole voting power over some of the assets. A revocable trust can be modified by the grantor to change trustees or beneficiaries, or even be dissolved entirely.
Office of Government Ethics documents show that from Jimmy Carter to Joe Biden, Trump is the only president who has not established a blind trust. Other presidents either set up blind trusts or only held diversified mutual funds, which present almost no conflict of interest. The Biden disclosure document contains no individual stock holdings.
Public records cannot confirm whether Trump has used his authority to modify or revoke this trust.
Delston pointed out that although individual transactions are executed by the banks, the assets ultimately belong to the president. This separation of powers creates dual compliance and reputational risks for the custodian banks.
"Banks taking on this business have weighed the risks: even with the significant controversies surrounding Trump, the service fee income and access to his network make the gamble worthwhile."
Under standard banking risk management protocols, a sitting president is automatically classified as a Politically Exposed Person (PEP). Such clients inherently carry higher risks of corruption and money laundering.
"For PEPs, banks must conduct enhanced due diligence upon account opening and maintain ongoing monitoring of fund flows," Delston said.
Under U.S. federal anti-money laundering regulations, banks must understand the purpose of the business relationship, anticipate routine transaction patterns, establish a specific risk profile, and continuously screen for suspicious transactions.
For a client like Trump, banks need to review each transaction—including transfers, checks, and securities trades—simultaneously, identifying any unusual activity.
"Screening cannot stop at identifying suspicious transactions; all of his accounts require real-time risk monitoring."
This high level of risk control means banks must invest additional resources in compliance personnel, risk management systems, legal teams, and external consultants. Serving a sitting president also carries inherent public and political risks, as the public will continuously scrutinize whether the bank is currying favor with the government or influencing policy debates to maintain the relationship.
CNBC was unable to calculate the total service fees each institution earns from Trump's accounts.
Delston concluded: "Banks charge high service fees to clients like the president to offset the risk, but it's impossible to precisely calculate whether the fees fully cover the potential risk."