Legg Mason: US valuations resemble those of 2000

Legg Mason's Evan Bauman has compared the market conditions in the US to the bubble environment of 2000 as valuations reach record levels.

The co-manager of the £1.2bn Legg Mason ClearBridge US Aggressive Growth fund is particularly cautious on overpriced ‘income trade’ stocks in sectors such as telecoms, utilities and consumer staples, such as Best Buy, Sears and Target. He also noted that companies trading at bubble valuations are now beginning to correct, pointing to themes such as 3D printing and big data. “We expect 2014 to be more volatile than recent years, characterised by a collection of stock events driving share prices rather than macro themes,” Bauman said. “This is more of a stock picker’s market and we see ...