One of Australia’s best-known contrarian investors Willy Packer warned against jumping into US shares this late in the cycle arguing the risk of loss is simply too big to chance at current prices.

Mr Packer, who has managed the Packer & Co Investigator Trust for some of Western Australia’s wealthiest people for more than 30 years, said he was keeping a sizable amount of capital in cash, concerned that valuations – particularly in the US – may be approaching breaking point.