Market realities, bubbles: Is Peak America leading to lower returns ahead?

It is far better for the US to gradually underperform global markets, as we have seen from the beginning of 2025

There is considerable debate among investors as to whether the US equity markets are in a bubble?  Are we experiencing another 1999/2000 internet bubble all over again, this time with artificial intelligence (AI) being the focus? This issue is relevant for all markets because if the US is in la-la land, a steep market fall is inevitable, with obvious consequences for asset allocation and all financial markets. For context, after the bubble burst in March 2000, the Nasdaq fell by 78 per cent and the S&P 500 by 49 per cent over a 30-month period. It took 15 years for