Investors should be positioned "more defensively" in their portfolios right now, partly because of how expensive markets are, said portfolio manager Brian Arcese. Shares are still expensive despite market volatility and stocks diving in the past few weeks, said Arcese, who works at Foord Asset Management. Arcese, who is also an equity analyst at the firm, said that shares — excluding information and telecommunication — are trading at more than 18 times 2024's earnings per share.
"And the positive is that, in our minds, at least, you don't have to give up growth in order to position your portfolio defensively," he added, saying that it's possible to invest in such companies that still grow at double-digit rates. Such stocks might be "less exciting" than artificial intelligence-driven companies or those with AI-driven growth, but they still grow at double-digit rates and are "far more defensive," he pointed out.