More Videos
- Abu Dhabi Will Aid Debt-Fraught Dubai 'Case by Case'
- Banks With The Biggest Exposure to The UAE
- Dubai's Debt Woes Signal New Era for Creditors
- Next Week: Cash In Now Or Wait For A Santa Rally?
- Dubai Stock Selloff May Bring Buying Opportunity
- Longer Lines, Fuller Carts This Black Friday
- Big US Banks May Be Forced to Raise Capital: Bove
- Bank of America Amends Pay for Senior Executives
- Tiger Woods Out of Hospital After Accident
- U.S. Stocks Fall on Dubai Worries
- Black Friday at Best Buy
- Strategists on Dubai: Avoid 'Rash Moves' Now
- Longer Lines, Fuller Carts This Black Friday
- Dubai Stock Market Fear Has 'Legs': Dennis Gartman
- Obama's Emission Reduction Pledge Paints Future for Autos
- Is Super Bowl Halftime Act Too Old?
- Surprising Options Trades in TiVo Shares
- EA Sports Hopes to Pump Up Sales Through Pop-Up Locations
MOST SHARED
- The Good Entrepreneur Winner
- Gold Will Collapse Like Oil Did in 2008: Charts
- CNBC VIDEO: Warren Buffett & Bill Gates 'Walk & Talk' at Columbia University
- Abu Dhabi Will Aid Debt-Fraught Dubai 'Case by Case'
- Next Week: Cash In Now Or Wait For A Santa Rally?
- Halftime Report: Dubai - First Ripple Of Larger Crisis?
Text Size 
Investors can still lose a lot of money in the stock market, but US government bonds aren't the solution either for those seeking safe havens, Pimco's co-CEO and co-chief investment officer Mohammed El-Erian told CNBC.
 |
Photo: Oliver P. Quillia for CNBC.com Mohamed El-Erian, co-chief executive officer of Pacific Investment Management Co. |
"Certain bonds aren't worth owning, like government bonds for instance," El-Erian said, adding that gaping deficits will force governments issue more debt.
"I am very underweight equities," he said, adding that he has cut his exposure to stocks to 30 percent compared with around 60 percent in normal market conditions. Pimco is the world's biggest bond fund.
"Fundamentally we are in a volatile journey to what we call the new normal, the new destination. The world is changing," El-Erian said.
People have to adjust to the fact that wealth has been destroyed, and the fact that there are more than 5 million unemployed in the US shows how serious the situation is, he added.
"The American consumer will return but will be a saner consumer… worried about their savings, worried about their retirement. That is a good adjustment. The problem is that it doesn't happen overnight," El-Erian said.
Asked whether he believed the stock market can re-test the March lows, he said: "The intellectually honest answer is we don't know."
"I have a fear right now that people are sucked into the equities market … go in as long as you can afford to lose that money," he added.
More videos of El-Erian: part two here >>> and part three here >>>
Two out of four conditions need to be met for an economic recovery to begin, according to El-Erian: house prices need to stabilize, banks must start lending again, the consumer must start spending again and the rest of the world must pick up.
For the moment, only the fourth condition is partly fulfilled, with timid signs of recovery in China emerging, he said.
Asked about attractive areas of investment, El-Erian listed mortgages, municipal bonds and corporate bonds, especially instead of stocks.
Print
Email
- These four sectors will be the next to lead the market.
- Zhu Zhu Pets are this year's must-have toy, fetching $40 or more on eBay.
- From the why-didn’t-I-think-of-that file, we present Jason Sadler, a man whose job is wearing T-shirts.
- It may be the most unusual guide to business you'll read.
- Shopping for a gadget hound? The choices can be baffling. Here are a few that should be a hit.
- "The Who" will be the halftime act for Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7 in Miami. Is the NFL behind the times?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes