The head of one of the world's largest hedge funds said at the World Economic Forum that "cash is trash." Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, made the comments about cash to CNBC from the snowy Swiss town of Davos where the WEF is taking place.
“Everybody is missing out, so everybody wants to get in,” Dalio said, referring to people who have been reluctant to put money in stocks. He urged investors to not sit on the sidelines while the stock market continues to roar to new highs and also advocated for people to have a balanced portfolio that includes safe havens like gold.
But Dalio's comments come at a time when Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) is sitting on a pile of nearly $130 billion in cash. Buffett has often lamented that he wants to do a big deal but he can't find any bargains.
And Apple (AAPL) has $206 billion in cash on its balance sheet just sitting there earning nearly nothing with interest rates so low. Companies are still hoarding cash even though they are using some for dividends and stock buybacks.
Apple, Google owner Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN) and Facebook (FB) have about a half trillion in cash combined. I guess that makes Buffett and Big Tech CEOs garbage collectors.