IGNORING THE BULL-MARKET BANDWAGON

This investing veteran remains wary of stocks.

- ANNE KATES SMITH

KIPLINGER: Your market calls were spot on during COVID and early in the 2022 bear market. But when the current bull market began in October of 2022, you’d just lowered your recommended stock allocation to a defensive 40%. At the end of 2023, you were roughly even on stocks and cash. You’re now at 61% stocks, with a big stake in defensive dividend payers. This bull run is up more than 70%, cumulatively, but you’ve not been a fan. Why not? STACK: I feel the way I did during the tech bubble in the late 1990s, when we were viewed as too cautious too early and out of step with the “new paradigm.” The good news is we have retained a reasonable investment through this high-risk rally. It’s not like we’re not participating; we’re just not doing rings around the punch bowl. The more seasoned you are, the more nervous you are about today’s market—period.