Market-beating money manager Jeff Vinik is bullish on stocks for now, but warns we are in the latter stages of the market rally.
“We’ve got a huge amount of momentum, not only market momentum, but economic momentum right now. The Trump tax cuts are certainly a tailwind for us. Worldwide, the economy is very strong, inflation is low. Short term these are very good conditions for the economy and for stocks,” he said in an interview Friday on CNBC’s “Halftime Report.” “If you look at a longer term basis, I start to get a little bit cautious. … Don’t fight the momentum right now, but we’re probably in the later stages, 7th or 8th inning.”
The S&P 500 is up 24 percent in the past 12 months. The current bull market started in 2009.
Vinik said ironically all the positive data on investor sentiment, corporate earnings and consumer confidence worries him.
“There is a good amount of euphoria out there,” he said. “I don’t remember a time honestly, maybe back to 2000, when there was so much good news and so much bullishness. And every instinct of mine tells me when that is the case, you should be a little cautious.”
From 1992 to 1996, Vinik managed the Fidelity Magellan Fund, the world’s largest mutual fund at the time with more than $50 billion under management. He then started his hedge fund Vinik Asset Management and posted annual returns of 17 percent before closing it in 2013. Vinik is the owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League.
