A 20-year veteran fund manager tells us why he's staying away from top tech stocks — and what he recommends buying instead

• The AI commercialized has been fueling the banal marketplace each year, but it's looked shakier recently.

• David Miller of Catalyst Funds says he's acrophobic apical tech stocks are overextended.

• He sees maturation opportunities successful different areas, including precious metals.

The statement inactive rages implicit whether AI is successful a bubble, but astir hold that the apical stocks definite bash look expensive.

While immoderate spot the bubble bursting outright, others are eyeing a concern wherever the momentum dilatory seeps out.

The red-hot AI commercialized has been the driving unit down the market's beardown maturation successful 2025, but not each concern pros are optimistic that the gains tin support piling up astatine the aforesaid pace. David Miller, main concern serviceman and elder portfolio manager of Catalyst Funds, is disquieted astir a weakening successful the tech commercialized arsenic the system slows.

Miller told Business Insider that helium thinks the tech stocks that person carried the marketplace for years whitethorn beryllium overextended. He's focused connected maturation opportunities extracurricular AI and large tech, peculiarly arsenic helium thinks a correction is apt successful the adjacent future.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq scale has struggled implicit the past week amid selling unit stemming from concerns astir valuations and a cloudier outlook for complaint cuts.

Sector leaders specified arsenic Palantir, Tesla, and Nvidia stumbled done the week, bolstering Miller's thesis that the AI-driven momentum is waning.

"Given the elevated valuations successful tech, enthusiasm could unwind rapidly if economical information continues to soften," helium told Business Insider. "Much of the market's optimism assumes continued gross acceleration and borderline enlargement from AI-related spending. If firm budgets tighten, oregon if rates stay higher for longer, that presumption could beryllium tested."

Miller sees respective indicators that the system is weakening. Consumer sentiment is declining and occupation losses are rising, portion tariffs stay a concern. GDP maturation whitethorn look stable, but successful his view, request successful the system is softening.

As the system weakens and the AI commercialized appears fragile, Miller said he's considering concern strategies to defender against much tech-driven losses.

"Outside of AI and the broader tech sector, we're uncovering the astir compelling opportunities successful areas that thin to payment from either slowing maturation oregon persistent ostentation pressures," helium noted. "Gold and precious metals stay charismatic fixed the operation of cardinal slope buying, geopolitical risk, and the likelihood of little existent rates if the system weakens."