There are times you just do not want to play the market, and this is one of them, Elevation Partners co-founder Roger McNamee told CNBC's "Squawk Alley" on Monday.
At the same time stock prices are in the upper band of valuation, turmoil and chaos are ramping up throughout the world, with events that traders cannot anticipate happening almost daily, he said.
McNamee sounded a cautionary note in the fall and told CNBC on Monday he still has about 70 percent of his investments in Treasury bills.
"As investors, I think we have to be cautious because we've been in a long, long bull market, and you don't want to be a pig at the trough when it's time to make the bacon," he said.
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Last week, the S&P 500 turned in its worst five-day performance since May 2012, dropping 3.5 percent. The Dow shed 3.8 percent for its worst week since November 2011.
Volatility also spiked 78 percent, the largest weekly gain in more than four years.
McNamee said if the trend continues, that's when it's time to back up the truck and start buying. He noted that there's nothing that says this is the pivot point to the downside, but he'd rather watch how things shake out from the sidelines rather than the trenches.
"I'm not sure I'm right. I'm just saying I'm more comfortable watching what's going on now with a huge pile of T-bills than I would if I were 100 percent long," said McNamee.