JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon doesn't expect stocks to crash anytime soon - but warns against ignoring Warren Buffett and trying to time the market
- Jamie Dimon expects a post-virus economic boom to support stock prices.
- The JPMorgan CEO advised heeding Warren Buffett and not trying to time the market.
- Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sold its stake in JPMorgan last year.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon doesn't expect stocks to crash in the coming months - but he recommends investors listen to Warren Buffett and not attempt to time the market.
The banking chief is predicting sustained US growth, fueled by consumers' $2 trillion in savings, low levels of household debt, and the economy reopening as the virus threat recedes. Even without President Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus program and infrastructure-spending plans, the outlook seems rosy to him.
"It's going to be a boom, and it could last for years," Dimon said in a webcast for JPMorgan's wealth-management clients, hosted by Kristin Lemkau on Wednesday. His comments were first reported by Yahoo Finance and confirmed to Insider by a JPMorgan spokesperson.
The "booming economy will justify today's prices," Dimon continued. However, he warned that markets can be unpredictable and some assets are in bubble territory.
Inflation could also spike and the Federal Reserve might move to cool the economy more quickly than expected, he cautioned. "That would surprise people and I guarantee you, stock prices would be too high if that happened," he said.
Dimon also advised investors not to try getting in and out of stocks based on their market predictions.
"Investing should be a permanent thing," he said. "Guessing at market tops, market bottoms - that is a complete loser's game. I've never seen anyone win at it. The smartest investor in the world, Warren Buffett, would say that is not the way to invest."
Indeed, Buffett famously focuses on buying wonderful businesses at fair prices, and doesn't try to anticipate how markets will move.
Dimon's praise of Buffett isn't surprising as the two men have admired each other for years. Buffett has lauded Dimon's talent and character, and once defended the banker's pay by offering to hire him on a higher salary at his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate. The pair have also partnered in the past and co-written columns.
"I think he knows more about markets than probably anybody you could find in the world," Buffett told Marketplace in 2018.
However, Buffett and Dimon's history didn't prevent Berkshire from selling the last of its JPMorgan shares in the fourth quarter of 2020, after building a stake worth $8 billion a year earlier.