Wall Street in the middle of a bull market

Wall Street’s big-money managers are missing homegrown bargains, which could end up costing their clients, a noted money manager warns.

Richard Bernstein says American stocks remain a good buy, even though hedge funds and pension funds continue to hold small amounts of American companies.

“We still think we’re in the middle of a tremendous bull market,” says Bernstein, chief executive and chief investment officer of Richard Bernstein Advisors. His firm manages some $3.3 billion in assets.

Bernstein says Wall Street continues to “underweight” US stocks, which he finds puzzling. Bernstein says the US stock market this year should continue to be strong.

In contrast with the Wall Street consensus, Bernstein said his firm is overweighting domestic stocks. That’s because the bull market is only in “the sixth inning,” according to Bernstein. That would mean it is only two-thirds over.

Why the bullish outlook?

Bernstein attributes it to consistently good economic news for the US. Every recent index points to growing consumer confidence along with an increase in hiring. He noted that the economy has now been strong for more than a year.

“[If] you want to worry about something,” Bernstein says, “worry about Europe.”