Orton said the reduction is tactical rather than a change in conviction. He stated that gold typically enters a seasonally weaker phase around the Chinese Lunar New Year, but continues to recommend portfolio exposure for diversification.
He still urges clients to hold at least 1.5% to 2% of their portfolios in gold and expects to add back to positions in about a month. Long-term drivers such as geopolitical risks, monetary debasement and central bank buying, he believes, remain firmly supportive.
Turning to equities and technology, Orton suggested that the market’s volatile reactions to rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) are exaggerated and have created opportunities in high-quality companies, particularly in the Indian information technology (IT) services space. He pointed to the extremely fast development cycle — including Anthropic releasing a new update just 12 days after its previous one — as a trigger for emotional market responses.
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“A lot of those reactions are overdone. A lot of high-quality investments have been thrown out with the bathwater,” Orton stated.
He described the current environment as “AI whack-a-mole,” cautioning investors against making rash decisions because it is still too early to determine which companies’ earnings will actually be disrupted. Instead, he expressed a constructive view on Indian IT services firms, arguing they are positioned on the “AI enablement side.”
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“They benefit from more companies, especially in the US and Europe, integrating and using a lot of this new advanced artificial intelligence,” he explained.
He added that these firms could also improve their own operating margins through internal AI adoption, and the recent weakness in their stock prices could provide buying opportunities once technical indicators stabilise.
Discussing the broader US market, Orton stated increasing dispersion and signs of a shift in market leadership. While broader participation is important for a sustained bull run, he warned that weakness in large-cap leaders could limit upside.
“We came from really strong earnings across most of those top seven companies, and we’re seeing significant weakness and a lack of interest in a lot of those names, and that keeps a lid on how high the market can go,” he said.
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Orton expects a near-term “risk-off scenario” and believes the market may undergo a corrective phase. However, he sees any broad sell-off as a buying opportunity because underlying economic fundamentals remain solid.
“I think we need to have some sort of shakeout to get investors to refocus on the underlying fundamentals,” he added.
For the entire interview, watch the accompanying video
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