Billionaire investor Kenneth Fisher says the biggest U.S. companies will lead global stocks in 2011, even as returns diminish after a 21-month bull market.
Fisher, who is known for making bold, often contrarian predictions, told Bloomberg Television on Monday that "America will do better than the rest of the world. People will move away from small cap and emerging markets and more toward boring things that evidence quality."
Fisher, 60, oversees $41 billion at Fisher Investments Inc., based in Woodside, Calif.
As Bloomberg notes, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index has risen 88% from its March 2009 low as the Federal Reserve pledged to stimulate the economy and companies reported better-than-estimated earnings. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index advanced 134%, while the Russell 2000 Index of small companies rallied 130% during that period.
Timken Co., a U.S. maker of bearings and alloy steel products, is a company that will do well in a "middle phase" of a bull market, Fisher said. Profits are expected to increase for a fifth quarter when it reports earnings around Feb. 2, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. The stock has risen almost five-fold since March 2009.
