Converstations With Fund Managers - Bull Market Momentum, Valuations, and the Death of 60/40 - Rick Bensignor
Why valuations, sector rotation, and portfolio construction matter more than ever in this relentless bull market.
Rick Bensignor, President of Bensignor Investment Strategies and editor of In the Know Trader, shares his perspective on today’s market environment—where shallow dips are bought, small caps are rallying on rate cut expectations, and investors debate whether valuations even matter anymore.
Key Insights from Rick Bensignor
Dips Still Get Bought
The S&P and Nasdaq have avoided anything more than a brief pullback since April.
“For now, dips are to be bought. Nothing has proven otherwise.”
Near-term SPY target: 669; long-term upside: 747.
Broadening Beyond Big Tech
Materials, industrials, REITs, and consumer discretionary are showing leadership alongside the Mag 7.
Small caps (IWM) are outperforming as markets price in lower rates.
Valuations Do Matter—Eventually
Rick pushes back on the idea that “valuations don’t matter until they do.”
He cites Palantir’s recent 20%+ correction as an example of when markets “finally wake up” to excess.
His approach: use institutional timing models to exit extended names before sharp reversals.
The Death of the 60/40 Portfolio
With the long bond bull market over, Rick believes the traditional 60/40 allocation no longer works.
“Why lock in bonds when equity returns dominate? Unless you’re near retirement, 70/30 or 80/20 makes more sense.”
Suggests complementing equities with cash, gold, and selective alternatives rather than long-duration bonds.
Behavioral Finance and Trading Discipline
Rick highlights his use of Tom DeMark’s institutional models to time exhaustion points in both directions.
Actionable takeaway: investors should take partial profits when names hit technical or valuation extremes—“sometimes when you’re given a gift, you have to take it.”
👉 Listen to the full interview here for more on behavioral finance, portfolio construction, and why retail access has fundamentally changed markets.
💡 If you enjoy these conversations, please subscribe, follow, and leave us a review on your favorite platform. It helps more investors discover the KE Report and keeps these discussions going.