Global investors are straddling a late 1990s-style "blow-off" and old-fashioned bear market, according to Platinum boss Andrew Clifford, who warns that prices are loaded with danger and only a few stocks are holding the bull market together.

Mr Clifford, who has been chief executive of the $25 billion global equities manager since 2018, says he is not afraid of owning growth stocks, even though Platinum is better known for its value-oriented and contrarian style. The problem is growth stocks are frequently so expensive that price affords no protection.