The rich appear to be losing faith in this bull market.
The 750 members of Tiger 21, a coalition of investors with some $75 billion in assets, increased their cash holdings by 20% in the first quarter, bringing the group’s total allocation to levels not seen since the start of 2013. The move also marks Tiger 21’s first cash-raising effort in three years.
Here’s where Tiger 21’s allocation stands now:
The ongoing tariff tiff with China tops their long list of market concerns, along with an unsustainable budget deficit and the failure to make progress with North Korean relations. A bigger cash pile will also come in handy, they say, in the face of any other “black swan” events that could rattle stocks.
The group is backing away from hedge funds, but just slightly, while real estate, still the asset of choice, has steadily fallen out of favor, dropping from a peak of 33% in the second quarter of 2017 to the current 26% level.
Private equity remains preferred over public — 25% vs. 22% — reflecting the “edge” that the wealthy members feel they get when investing directly in small companies where they might have direct interest or outright ownership.
Cash clearly hasn’t been the best place to be for the past few sessions, considering the major indexes have all bounced back from Monday’s rout. The Dow DJIA, +0.84% closed up more than 200 points Thursday.
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