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Jamie Dimon just said something that should stop every investor cold. The CEO of America’s biggest bank says he wouldn’t buy stocks — or Treasury bonds — at today’s prices (1).
Read that again. Not just stocks. Bonds too — the one place people run to feel safe when stocks get scary. Dimon says he doesn’t see the upside.
I was a stockbroker on Black Monday in 1987, the day the market fell nearly 23% in a single session. I’ve traded through the dot-com bust, 2008 and the 2020 crash too.
When someone in Dimon’s seat says the risks are bigger than people think, I listen — but I don’t panic.
Here’s why his warning carries weight. Dimon pointed to wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, U.S.-China tension, ballooning federal deficits, and inflation that’s run above 3% for nearly five years (1).
He’s got a real point on bonds. Federal interest costs are climbing toward all-time highs as the government borrows more (2) — and that pressure pushes yields up and bond prices down on the Treasurys millions of retirees are holding.
Think bonds are automatically safe? Remember 2022 — the worst year for U.S. bonds in modern history, when stocks and bonds fell hard at the same time (3).
So if the two things most portfolios lean on are both shaky, what do you actually do? Here are the 5 moves I’m making.
1. Understand the real warning: bonds aren’t a bunker
Most people hear “market risk” and think stocks. Dimon’s warning is scarier because it includes bonds — the thing you’re told to hide in when stocks wobble.
In 2022, that hiding spot collapsed. The classic 60/40 mix of stocks and bonds had one of its worst years in a century (4). Safe isn’t always the same as familiar.
2. Keep your safe money truly safe — and make it pay
Here’s the nuance most headlines miss: Dimon’s beef is with long-dated Treasury bonds, not with cash. Short-term savings still throw off real money right now, without the price risk that hammers long bonds when rates rise.
Parking your emergency money and near-term cash somewhere liquid and high-yielding is the least glamorous move here — but it’s one of the smartest steps to guard your savings when markets turn chaotic.
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3. Own something that doesn’t move with Wall Street or the bond market
If both stocks and bonds can fall together — and 2022 proved they can — then real diversification means holding something that marches to its own drummer. That’s the whole case for putting a slice of your money in hard assets.
With market swings and inflation on a lot of savers’ minds, some investors, myself included, choose to diversify part of their retirement into physical precious metals.
A Gold IRA lets you roll over an existing retirement account into one that holds physical gold, with the same tax treatment as a traditional IRA — or you can buy physical coins delivered to your door. (Minimum investment: $15,000.)
One of our partners compares leading precious-metals providers on pricing, fees, and the rollover process, so you can review your options in one place. You can check that out here.
Remember, though: Investing in precious metals carries risk, including price volatility. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results. This is not investment advice.
One thing before we keep going — the financial world is louder and dumber than ever. Hot takes everywhere. Almost none of it is worth your time. I’ve spent 35+ years cutting through the noise so you don’t have to. Sign up for the free Money Talks Newsletter — 10 seconds, no spam, just the stuff that matters.
4. Stop trying to out-guess the market — diversify instead
Notice what Dimon didn’t do: he didn’t say “sell everything and hide.” Even he isn’t calling the top to the day.
The lesson from every crisis I’ve traded through is that nobody — not me, not Dimon — reliably nails the timing. So don’t bet your future on a prediction. Build a mix that survives being wrong, and get a second set of eyes to stress-test it.
Depending on where you are in life, a fiduciary advisor can be really useful. And these days, they’re not hard to find. For example, SmartAsset will instantly match you with up to three fiduciary advisors – legally required to prioritize your interests.
A good advisor will spot tax savings, Social Security strategies, and planning gaps you’d never see alone. The match is free, and so are initial appointments.
$100K+ in investments? Get matched free in minutes.5. Whatever you do, don’t panic
This is the move that matters most, and it’s the only free one. Every crash I’ve lived through felt like the end of the world at the time — Black Monday, the dot-com wipeout, 2008, the 2020 plunge.
Every single one recovered. The investors who got hurt weren’t the ones who owned stocks. They were the ones who panic-sold at the bottom and turned a paper loss into a permanent one.
Even when a downturn looks likely, here’s why I won’t sell a thing.
The bottom line
So should you take Jamie Dimon’s warning seriously? Absolutely. He’s smart, he’s honest, and he’s sitting in the best seat in American finance. But “take it seriously” doesn’t mean “dump everything and cower in cash.”
It means doing the boring, grown-up things: keep some money truly safe, spread your risk beyond just stocks and bonds, and refuse to make a permanent decision based on a temporary emotion.
I’ve watched a lot of loud warnings come and go in 45 years. The market always finds something to be afraid of — and the patient investors who don’t flinch almost always come out ahead. Be one of them.
Sources: CNBC (1); Peterson Foundation (2); CNBC (3); Morningstar (4).
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