Gundlach: Low Yields Leading to ‘Mass Psychosis’

The market is full of madness, but there are still opportunities to watch for, said DoubleLine Capital CEO Jeffrey Gundlach. 

“There’s something of a mass psychosis going on related to the so-called starvation for yield,” said Gundlach, during a call with investors on Tuesday. “Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t like investments where if you’re right you don’t make any money.”

He shared his confusion and astonishment with investors’ demand for government bonds as a safe haven, which has driven prices of 10-year Treasury notes up and yields to record lows. The fixed-income guru says he thinks 10-year yields will improve to 1.7% but only return 2% next year.

“I still believe, and more strongly than ever, that we’re looking at a long-term bottoming process in interest rates here,” Gundlach said.

The record-low yields and market chatter talking up Treasury notes is “the worst setup” he has ever seen in his 30-plus year career, he adds.

The bullish sentiment is misguided, the fixed income specialist says, as are many incorrect and simplistic views on market “maxims,” such as “bond yields simply cannot go up” and “nothing can make them [yields] go up,” he explained.

Pundits were certain gold wouldn’t rise from $1,075 earlier this year, Gundlach points out, though it now trading near $1,345.

“If you are going to speculate on something, do it where you’ll make some real money,” the DoubleLine executive stated.

Wheat is “down massively,” and if it were to increase in price, investors could make 10% or 15%, which is better than what the 10-year Treasury is offering, he explains. To make money on 10-year Treasuries, investors would need to sell these assets to “some greater fool at its lowest all-time yield.”

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In the more immediate term, he urges investors to “watch out” for stock-market highs being rejected, which is what happened on Wednesday.