Behind Closed Doors
Posted on Saturday, April 22nd, 2017
Known for being press shy, unlike some hedge fund managers, Paul Tudor Jones broke onto the trading scene with a splash by calling the 1987 stock market crash just days before it happened. So it was big news this week when it was revealed that Paul Tudor Jones, at a closed door meeting this week at Goldman Sachs, said that the Federal Reserve should be freaked out by this one “terrifying chart”. The chart in question also happens to be Warren Buffett’s primary indicator of market valuations.
It makes for good headlines but we have to say we have followed this chart for years and it is not a very good timing indicator for market corrections. However, it is a very good guide to the valuation of the overall market here in the Unites States and it is quite high. Market s can stay irrational longer than you can remain solvent betting against them. Interest rates and ballooning central bank balance sheets have pushed asset prices around the world to new heights.
It remains to be considered that IF central banks ever stop buying or, god forbid sell, then markets should fall. More interestingly, Jones said that the catalyst to the market fall will be risk parity funds. A bit inside baseball but, basically, the explosion of risk parity funds is based on momentum. The lower the market goes the more risk parity funds will have to sell equities. It could exacerbate any run in the market just as it has on the upside. :
We have been weighing in on the active vs. passive debate in the last few weeks as we feel that we have reached an inflection point. We believe that the pendulum swings back when it reaches extremes and we believe that we may be at that point. Think of it like this. If everyone is invested 100% in ETF’s, passive management, then wouldn’t it be prudent to employ an active allocation to try and capture what inefficiencies are created by blindly piling en masse into ETF’s. We have been vocal proponents of the benefits of passive management but the pendulum may have swung too far and more evidence, however anecdotal, was presented this week by the creation of an ETF for ETF’s. An exchange traded fund (ETF) was created this week to follow the companies that benefit from the growth in the ETF industry. Maybe sometimes they do ring a bell. Time for more research.
Congress has been closed so the Trump Reflation obsession was put on hold and investors and media grew obsessed with geopolitical concerns with a spotlight on the French elections and North Korea. Rates are falling while gold is rising. Fear is rising as some are reaching for protection in what is known as the “fear trade”. A move to gold and US Treasuries is the usually accompaniment when fear rises, especially in light of geopolitical concerns. Investors have become a bit more defensive. We may see rates rise and gold fall when Congress gets back into session.
Last 30 minutes of trading thesis has been inconclusive so far. No definitive pattern yet. Market seems to be in a consolidation pattern. The market seems to be digesting its gains and gathering itself before a move to a higher summit. Markets do not top out like this – spending weeks at a given level. The odds are that markets, when leaving a consolidation phase, move in the direction in which they came in.
I think we aspire less to foresee the future and more to be a great contingency planner… you can respond very fast to what’s happening because you thought through all the possibilities, – Lloyd Blankfein
To learn more about us and Blackthorn Asset Management LLC visit our website at www.BlackthornAsset.com .
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. – Winston Churchill
Disclosure: This blog is informational and is not a recommendation to buy or sell anything. If you are thinking about investing consider the risk. Everyone’s financial situation is different. Consult your financial advisor.