JPMorgan warns of utmost crowding in high-beta shares, sees rising market complacency

JPMorgan warns of extreme investor crowding in high-beta stocks, flagging market risk

JPMorgan strategists say markets have seen three waves of extreme crowding in style factors this year.

• January saw a rush into quality growth and large-cap AI-linked names.

• April brought a shift to low-volatility stocks amid fears of AI overspend and recession risks from tariffs.

• Now, crowding has surged into high-beta stocks—both speculative growth and low-value names—reaching the 100th percentile, the most extreme in 30 years.

The move from the 25th to 100th percentile happened in just three months, a pace JPMorgan calls “unsustainable.” Short interest has collapsed, leaving investors poorly hedged.

• “This crowding reflects growing belief in a Goldilocks scenario—resilient growth, Fed cuts, and tariff fatigue,” the team says. But they warn it signals rising complacency and presents a broader market risk.

JPMorgan’s screen of crowded high-beta names includes Palantir (PLTR), Coinbase (COIN), Nvidia (NVDA), Super Micro (SMCI), and Tesla (TSLA).

They advise rotating back into low-volatility stocks, which now offer better risk/reward amid looming August 1 tariff deadlines, poor seasonal trends, and stretched positioning.

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This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.