Famed investor Leon Cooperman is taking a more cautious approach to investing, selling profitable holdings while holding onto an outsized level of cash. The chairman of Omega Family Office expressed hesitation Monday in a CNBC interview, saying “I don’t like what I see” in a market with high valuations and against a volatile policy environment. “Basically, I’m selling anything I have that goes up. I’m selling on strength, reducing exposure on strength,” Cooperman said during a ” Squawk Box ” interview. “We have a bunch of stocks have done well. We’re keeping up with the market, which is [a] good thing.” However, market gains this year have been hard to come by, with the S & P 500 barely positive year to date in 2025. Looking for opportunities now, Cooperman said one of his top holdings is Fidelis Insurance Holdings , a Bermuda-based insurance and reinsurance company that has stumbled this year, losing about 12%. FIHL 1Y line Fidelis shares over the past year. Another pick is Vertiv Holdings , a tech infrastructure firm that has been pummeled this year, losing 22% amid broader fears over valuation in AI-related stocks. Vertiv shares slumped more than 6% on Monday alone. “I’m looking for things that are selling at a discount to a market multiple, and have growth prospects comparable to the market,” Cooperman said. VRT 1Y line Vertiv shares in the past 12 months. Still, he’s holding about 15% cash, which is well above the usual 5% or so allocation typical on Wall Street. Cooperman expressed both support and misgivings about the direction President Donald Trump has taken while pursuing tariffs against U.S. trading partners. Economists worry that the tariffs could spark inflation, while Cooperman said Trump’s pursuit of deficit reduction will have a “contraction” impact on companies that have benefited from government spending. “The president is on the right track, but I think he’s doing things in a manner that is very destabilizing. So I have a conservative view,” he said.
