The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all touched record highs again on Monday. They’re now up 7.0%, 7.3% and 5.0% for the year, respectively. But the market’s strength belies the fact that some of the biggest – and presumably smartest? – traders are heading for the exits. Reuters reports George Soros, Jeffrey Grundlach, Carl Icahn and David Tepper were among the billionaire hedge fund managers who slashed their long equity positions in the second quarter, according to regulatory filings.
Business Insider is reporting that James Litinsky of JHL Capital has written investors that he would rather be investing in the dark days of 2008 than today. “When people think about inflation they often envision a situation like Venezuela, where there are skyrocketing prices and severe shortages of basic goods and services,” he writes. “Global central banks have given us another kind of inflation, currently isolated to financial assets. They have printed so much money and so severely manipulated market prices that there is a Venezuela happening in the capital markets.”
Admittedly, some just-as-renowned names think there’s still value out there: Warren Buffett upped his stake in Apple during the second quarter by adding 15 million shares worth $1.45 billion.
But as the saying goes – always keep an eye on the door: it may soon be the most popular place at the party.