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The U.S. stock market has surged to new highs, but Jim Rogers isn’t celebrating.
The legendary investor and co-founder of the Quantum Fund says the strength investors are seeing across global markets may actually be a warning sign — not a reason to relax.
“The U.S. market has never had such a long upward period without a problem… Nearly every stock market in the world is doing well — that has rarely happened in my lifetime,” Rogers said in a recent interview (1) with tastylive. “But when it has happened, it has been a time to be worried and to get out.”
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Then came the blunt warning.
“So, everything’s okay now,” he said. “But if you ask me, the end will probably come soon.”
Rogers’ concern comes as U.S. stocks have continued climbing under President Donald Trump’s second term, with investors cheering corporate profits, enthusiasm around artificial intelligence and hopes that Washington’s pro-growth agenda will keep the rally alive.
That optimism, Rogers suggested, is exactly what makes him uneasy.
“Now Washington will say, ‘Don’t worry, it’s going to last forever,'” Rogers told (2) Glenn Diesen in another interview. “I worry when Washington says something like that.”
Trump has often pointed to the stock market’s strength under his leadership. In a post on Truth Social earlier this year, he predicted, “100,000 on the DOW by the end of my Term (3).” With his term set to end in January 2029, that would imply a roughly 100% climb in the Dow in less than three years.
Rogers, however, won’t be along for the ride.
“I have sold all of my U.S. stocks,” he revealed in a recent interview (4) with Natural Resource Stocks.
Part of his concern comes down to debt.
“The U.S. is the largest debtor nation in the history of the world, and yet it’s higher and higher every day, every hour,” he said.
According to Treasury Department data, the U.S. national debt now stands at $38.97 trillion — and climbing (5).
For Rogers, that mounting debt could spell trouble ahead.
“Historically, when somebody gets gigantic amounts of debt, eventually it causes problems,” Rogers remarked. “I don’t know when eventually is, but I hope I’m getting prepared.”
What Rogers owns for protection
One way Rogers says he’s preparing is by holding precious metals — especially gold and silver — because they have preserved value through centuries of financial turmoil.
“As long as I’ve been alive and hundreds of years longer, gold and silver have retained value,” he told Diesen. “I own both — I hope my children own my gold and silver someday. Everybody should have some gold in the closet, everybody should have some silver under the bed.”
Gold and silver have long been considered popular safe haven assets. Unlike fiat currency, these metals cannot be printed in unlimited quantities by central banks.
At the same time, investors often look to these metals amid market volatility and global instability, as their value isn’t tied to any specific country, currency or economy.
Despite a recent pullback, the price of gold has surged by more than 40% over the past 12 months.
One way to invest in gold that also provides significant tax advantages is to open a gold IRA with the help of Priority Gold.
Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, thereby combining the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it an option for those looking to help shield their retirement funds against economic uncertainties.
When you make a qualifying purchase with Priority Gold, you can receive up to $10,000 in precious metals for free.
Cash for the crisis
Precious metals aren’t the only assets Rogers is holding for protection. He also revealed that he’s sitting on a large pile of cash — specifically in U.S. dollars.
That might sound contradictory given his concerns about U.S. debt. But Rogers says his dollar position is based less on faith in America’s balance sheet and more on how investors tend to behave when markets panic.
“I own a lot of U.S. dollars,” Rogers noted in the Diesen interview. “I own them because people will look for a safe haven. Many people in the world think that the U.S. dollar is a safe haven — it’s not, but people think it is.”
In other words, Rogers believes that if turmoil hits, investors around the world could still rush into the dollar — pushing it higher, at least temporarily.
“If I’m right, at some point, as the crisis comes, the U.S. dollar will go up a lot,” he said. “I hope I will be smart enough to sell it.”
That’s a very different message from simply sitting on cash forever. Rogers is treating the dollar as a potential crisis trade, not a permanent shelter.
Still, his point highlights something many Americans can control right now: where they keep their own cash. Whether it’s an emergency fund, short-term savings or money set aside for future opportunities, those dollars don’t have to sit idle while investors wait to see what comes next.
For instance, a high-yield account like a Wealthfront Cash Account can be a great place to grow your uninvested cash, offering both competitive interest rates and easy access to your money when you need it.
A Wealthfront Cash Account currently offers a base APY of 3.30% through program banks, and new clients can get an extra 0.75% boost during their first three months on up to $150,000 for a total variable APY of 4.05%.
That’s ten times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC’s March report.
Additionally, Wealthfront is offering new clients who enable direct deposit ($1,000/mo minimum) to their Cash Account and open and fund a new investment account an additional 0.25% APY increase with no expiration date or balance limit, meaning your APY could be as high as 4.30%.
With no minimum balances or account fees, as well as 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, your funds remain accessible at all times. Plus, you get access to up to $8M FDIC Insurance eligibility through program banks.
An overlooked alternative
While Rogers has long been known as a contrarian investor, his message feels especially relevant today. Nearly 40% of the S&P 500’s weight is concentrated in its ten largest stocks, and the index’s CAPE ratio hasn’t been this high since the dot-com boom.
That kind of concentration can leave investors more exposed than they realize — especially if today’s market leaders stumble.
This is where, for many investors, alternative assets come into play. These can include everything from real estate and precious metals to private equity and collectibles.
But there’s one store of value that routinely flies under the radar: It’s scarce by design, coveted worldwide and frequently locked away by institutions.
We’re talking about post-war and contemporary art — a category that has outpaced the S&P 500 with low correlation since 1995.
It’s easy to see why art pieces often fetch new highs at auctions: the supply of the best works of art is limited, and many of the most desirable pieces have already been snatched up by museums and collectors.
That scarcity can also make art an attractive option for investors looking to diversify and preserve wealth during periods of high inflation.
Now, Masterworks is offering a single investment that combines blue-chip art with other scarce assets like gold and bitcoin, which have historically moved independently of equities and of one another.
The result is a more balanced, all-weather approach to alternative investing. In fact, this model would have outperformed the S&P 500 by 3.1x from 2017 to 2025.*
By leveraging access to museum-quality artwork alongside other uncorrelated assets, the strategy aims to enhance diversification while still pursuing meaningful appreciation.
Discover how diversifying with this strategy can strengthen your portfolio for the years ahead.
*Investing involves risk. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. The 3.1x figure reflects a model backtest, not actual fund performance.
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YouTube (1),(2),(4); Truth Social (3); U.S. Department of the Treasury (5)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.