Michael Burry, the investor who famously called the 2008 housing collapse, is sounding the alarm on tech stocks again. And this time, he's telling everyday investors to do something that might sound counterintuitive: get out, but don't bet against them.
In a Substack post over the weekend, Burry said the current market environment has reached "historically dangerous extremes" reminiscent of the dot-com bubble. His advice? "For any stocks going parabolic reduce positions almost entirely." He's particularly concerned about AI-fueled momentum trades that have pushed valuations sharply higher—the kind of euphoria that tends to end badly.
Here's the thing: Burry isn't just some perma-bear shouting into the void. He's been right before when everyone else was wrong. Last week, he compared the recent run-up in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index to the final months before the March 2000 tech crash. That's not subtle.
But here's where it gets interesting for regular investors. Burry says shorting is not the answer. In fact, he warns it's "not something most people should ever do." Right now, buying put options is expensive, and directly shorting stocks can cause "significant pain" even if you're eventually proven right. Translation: the cost of being early can wipe you out before you're vindicated.
So what should you actually do? Burry suggests the boring answer: reduce exposure to stocks, especially tech. Sell your winners that have gone parabolic. "Reject greed," he says—which is easier said than done when your portfolio is up 50% and everyone on social media is posting gain screenshots.
For what it's worth, Burry is putting his money where his mouth is. He's maintaining a "significant leveraged short position" against what he views as depressed, cheap companies—basically a hedge against expensive growth stocks. But that's a sophisticated strategy that requires deep pockets and high pain tolerance.




