Under current conditions, warns bond guru Bill Gross, investors would be well served to focus more on preserving capital than earning high returns, according to a recent CNBC article.
Given the huge amount of debt on our country’s books (upwards of $65 trillion), Gross says, “Our highly levered financial system is like a truckload of nitroglycerin on a bumpy road.”
Manager of the $1.9 billion Janus Unconstrained Bond Fund, Gross feels that the Fed has held things steady so far, but has to be careful not to raise rates so much that the cost of capital becomes prohibitive but enough to bolster returns for savers, pension funds and insurance companies.
Gross also cautions investors, according to the article, against relying too heavily on what he calls “the Trump mirage of 3-4 percent growth and the magical benefits of tax cuts and deregulation.” He believes that the country’s high level of debt is worrisome and that increased interest rates could “wreak havoc on an increasingly stressed financial system.”
His advice to investors? “Be more concerned about the return of your money than the return on your money in 2017 and beyond.”