{"id":45386,"date":"2016-08-08T06:36:13","date_gmt":"2016-08-08T10:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=45386"},"modified":"2016-08-08T06:36:13","modified_gmt":"2016-08-08T10:36:13","slug":"sell-everything-but-why-what-has-the-smartest-investors-so-spooked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=45386","title":{"rendered":"“Sell Everything”… But Why: What Has The Smartest Investors So Spooked?"},"content":{"rendered":"

ZeroHedge.com<\/p>\n

Submitted by Nick Colas of Convergex <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Many of the smartest investors out there hate stocks.\u00a0 Since May, we\u2019ve heard negative equity calls from Stan Druckenmiller, George Soros, Carl Icahn, Jeff Gundlach and Bill Gross.\u00a0 Wall Street lore says \u201cNever argue about markets with a guy who is much richer than you\u201d.\u00a0 <\/strong>So we\u2019ll take the discussion in a different direction: what do they know?<\/p>\n

Successful investors are always more plugged in than the market as a whole \u2013 hence their success.\u00a0 And while we can only guess at the lynchpins of their negative take on stocks, we do have some idea of how significant they must be.\u00a0 For example, in 2016 the S&P 500 is up 5.9% on a price basis after 1) the Brexit \u201cLeave\u201d vote, 2) dramatically disappointing Q1 and Q2 U.S. GDP, 3) a correction of 20% in oil prices, 4) a Fed that has incorrectly calibrated its public stance on monetary policy, 5) Donald Trump as the Republican candidate for president, and 6) the U.S. 10 Year Treasury at near record low yields.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

None of that has been enough to spook U.S. equity markets.\u00a0 So whatever the big boys think they know, it must be really bad.\u00a0 But what is it, and why is it so hidden from view?<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone is getting this information before you.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0 If you\u2019ve ever worked at a hedge fund, you know this is the worst thing you can hear.\u00a0 It means you are behind the curve, providing yesterday\u2019s news into an investment process meant to predict the future.\u00a0 \u201cTitanic sinks!\u201d or \u201cman lands on the moon!\u201d are the more playful retorts you\u2019ll get from co-workers.\u00a0 But it all means the same thing: up your game, or get a white box from the mail room.<\/p>\n

So when a cluster of high-profile hedge fund and long-biased managers go out of their way to give dire warnings about the U.S. equity market with stocks sitting at or near all-time highs, any sensible investor needs to pay attention<\/strong>.\u00a0 These are people with access to information that most market participants could only dream of having.\u00a0 Former heads of state and central bankers, private intelligence operatives, senior government officials, the best consultants in any industry\u2026\u00a0 It is like having an all access pass to anything, anywhere, any time.
\nHere\u2019s a partial list of bold faced names that have panned stocks and other financial assets in recent weeks:<\/p>\n