Stanley Druckenmiller says stock investing is going to be really tough the next 10 years

Published Wed, Nov 1 20238:35 AM EDTUpdated Wed, Nov 1 202312:17 PM EDT

Jesse Pound @/in/jesse-pound @jesserpound

Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller warned Wednesday that it would be hard to invest in stocks over the next decade, as interest rates and equity valuations return to historically normal levels. The comments came as part of a broader interview where Druckenmiller warned that the U.S. government was spending money " like drunken sailors " and that the cost of government debt was heading toward a crisis level with higher interest rates. "It seems that bonds are adjusting to a post-[quantitative easing] world, but for some reason, equities haven't," Druckenmiller said on CNBC's " Squawk Box ." "Given everything I've just talked about and given the geopolitical situation and everything else, I don't think it's unreasonable to think that we're not going to continue to sell at 20-times earnings over a long period of time." Druckenmiller said that prior to quantitative easing, which began as part of the government's response to the 2008 financial crisis, stock valuations were typically at about 15-times earnings. The recent spike in Treasury yields have put market interest rates near their highest levels since 2007. The head of the Duquesne Family Office also said he was concerned that government spending on interest costs could "crowd out" investment and innovation in the private sector. The comments Wednesday were similar to what Druckenmiller told Palantir CEO Alex Karp in an interview last year, according to Fortune . However, he has maintained that view even as the stock market has rallied in 2023 and the U.S. economy has held up better than he and many economists predicted . Despite his big-picture concerns, Druckenmiller said he still thought some investors would find success in the next 10 years. "I think there's going to be great companies and great stocks. A lot do — a stock picker's market," Druckenmiller said. "A lot of people made money in the stock market in the '70s. It's just not going to be like surfing with a hurricane behind your back. You're going to have to really do work and figure out which equities are back and which are not. Not, frankly, unlike what has happened in the stock market in the last year." Druckenmiller has had a long career as a hedge fund manager, including with George Soros' Quantum Fund and with Duquesne Capital Management, where he oversaw $12 billion.