【Live Recap】🚨Ross Cut AI in June — Here’s Where He Sees the Next Opportunity

Speaker: Ross Dong @Ross_Macro_Trading (Founder of Gongxing Academy and Partner at Morning Cloud Asset Management)
Live Date: August 12, 2026

Ross Dong remains bullish on AI as a long-term technology cycle—but that did not stop his fund from cutting semiconductor and AI exposure in June.

In this livestream, Ross explained the warning signals behind that decision, why he still sees selective upside in U.S. equities, and where he is gradually putting cash back to work—from hyperscalers and financials to power, energy and other less-crowded parts of the AI value chain.

Want a deeper dive? We broke this session into 4 full recap articles:

• Live Recap 1: Why Ross Cut AI Exposure Before the Sell-Off — Inside a Fund Manager's Risk Framework

• Live Recap 2: Rate Cuts, Jackson Hole and Market Risk — Ross's U.S. Market Playbook

• Live Recap 3: AI Has Burned Billions — Are the Returns Finally Showing Up? Top Tickers Included

• Live Recap 4: Beyond NVDA — Power, TSMC, China Tech and the Next AI Opportunities

Prefer to watch the highlights? Catch these key moments from the live session in short clip form>

• 【直播切片1｜Ross Dong：机构6月就悄悄撤离AI，他们提前看到了什么】

• 【直播切片2｜Ross Dong：Ross用马车和汽车，讲清AI为何和泡沫同行】

• 【直播切片3｜Ross Dong：CPI和就业都在降，下半年加息真的要停了吗】

• 【直播切片4｜Ross Dong：别只盯英伟达，AI链上这两块其实更被低估】

🐯💬 Join the discussion: Share your market view or questions below. Every useful and thoughtful comment will receive Tiger Coins!

🎯 5 Key Takeaways

• Ross began reducing AI and semiconductor exposure in mid-June, with the remaining positions cleared around June 25–26.

• Three warning signals stood out: credit-market stress, early weakness in South Korea and rising institutional put hedging.

• He still sees room for U.S. equities to move higher, but views late August through September as a period where volatility could increase.

• Rather than simply chasing GPUs, Ross is increasingly interested in power, energy, industrials, financials and selected hyperscalers.

• His core distinction remains: being bullish on AI for the next three to five years does not mean being fully invested at every price.

🚪 Why Ross Got Out of AI in June

Ross said his fund began reducing semiconductor and AI positions in stages from mid-June, before selling the remaining exposure around June 25–26, shortly after $Micron Technology(MU)$'s earnings.

The decision was not based on one bearish headline. Three different signals were beginning to point in the same direction.

Signal 1: Credit Markets Started Cracking

Ross closely watches two variables when assessing market risk:

Liquidity + Credit

In June, he saw signs of stress emerging in lower-quality credit markets.

Stocks can remain strong even while conditions underneath the market deteriorate. For Ross, weakness in credit was therefore an early sign that risk appetite may have been becoming less stable.

Signal 2: South Korea Weakened First

The Korean market had already started correcting in early June.

Ross views South Korea as a useful leading indicator because of its importance to global technology and semiconductor supply chains. He also pointed to past periods such as 1997, 2000 and 2008, when Korean equities showed weakness relatively early.

He was not arguing that Korea predicts every global sell-off—but it was another signal his team did not want to ignore.

Signal 3: Institutions Were Hedging

The third warning appeared in the U.S. options market.

Ross explained that large institutions cannot always liquidate huge equity positions quickly. When risk rises, they may instead buy downside protection.

His proprietary put-hedging indicator began flashing repeated warning signals in June. Of the roughly 15 quantitative indicators his team monitors, Ross said more than two-thirds were showing signs of rising market risk.

Taken together, that was enough for the fund to step aside.

Discussion: If credit, options positioning and equities are sending different signals, which one would you trust most?

📊 The Macro Backdrop: Cuts, Not Hikes?

Ross's macro view remains relatively constructive.

He believes U.S. inflation likely peaked around the second quarter and sees a high hurdle for another Federal Reserve rate hike in the second half of 2026.

The labour market also appears softer. Ross highlighted weak July payroll data and argued that employment conditions had been losing momentum.

His base case is therefore that the broader policy direction eventually shifts toward rate cuts extending into 2027.

Ross also discussed new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh and expects the Fed's communication style to potentially become less frequent and less explicit under his leadership.

For markets, however, the more immediate date on Ross's calendar is Jackson Hole in late August.

He still sees room for equities to move higher beforehand, but believes late August through September could become a more volatile period.

☁️ AI Spending Is Starting to Show Up in Revenue

Ross may have reduced AI exposure in June, but he has not abandoned the AI thesis.

One reason: the fundamentals of the major hyperscalers have been improving.

He highlighted strong recent cloud growth across $Alphabet(GOOGL)$, $Microsoft(MSFT)$ and $Amazon.com(AMZN)$, arguing that massive AI capital expenditure is increasingly translating into real revenue.

Google Cloud was one standout, with Q2 2026 cloud revenue growth reaching 82%.

That matters because one of the biggest concerns surrounding AI has been straightforward:

Companies are spending enormous amounts on AI infrastructure—but where is the return?

Ross believes the answer is starting to become clearer.

The feedback loop increasingly looks like:

Higher AI CAPEX → More infrastructure → More cloud capacity → Higher cloud revenue

The spending is still enormous, and free cash flow remains an issue to watch. But stronger cloud growth makes the AI investment cycle easier to justify.

⚡ Where the Cash Goes Next: Power and Energy

If the first AI trade centred on GPUs and hyperscalers, Ross believes the next opportunity could emerge further down the infrastructure stack.

His preferred area:

Power and energy.

AI data centres require enormous amounts of electricity. That means the investment cycle extends into:

• Power generation

• Grid infrastructure

• Transmission and distribution

• Transformers

• Nuclear power

• Data-centre infrastructure

During the Q&A, Ross mentioned $Vistra Energy Corp.(VST)$ and $Constellation Energy Corp(CEG)$ as examples he is watching.

His broader thesis is simple:

AI cannot scale on chips alone. It also needs energy.

This is one reason he sees opportunities emerging in businesses that investors may not traditionally classify as "AI stocks."

🏭 Don't Ignore Industrials and Financials

Ross is also looking beyond technology for places to deploy capital.

He remains constructive on selected industrials and financials, where fundamentals have remained strong despite receiving far less attention than semiconductor names.

Companies discussed included:

Industrials

• $Caterpillar(CAT)$

Financials

• $JPMorgan Chase(JPM)$

• $Goldman Sachs(GS)$

• $Morgan Stanley(MS)$

Ross believes financial institutions could also become indirect AI beneficiaries because automation can improve productivity and reduce operating costs.

For investors focused almost entirely on semiconductors, his message was clear:

AI does not have to be the only source of returns—even in an AI-driven market.

🔐 Software: Cybersecurity May Be Better Positioned

Ross is more selective when it comes to software.

AI agents could pressure some traditional SaaS products, particularly where software performs relatively standardized tasks.

Cybersecurity looks different.

He highlighted $Palo Alto Networks(PANW)$ and $CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc.(CRWD)$, arguing that more powerful AI can simultaneously improve productivity and create more sophisticated digital-security threats.

That could make cybersecurity a second-order beneficiary of AI adoption.

Ross also mentioned $Snowflake(SNOW)$, pointing to its data positioning—particularly in healthcare—as an example of a potentially stronger moat.

⚖️ What Ross Is Not Chasing

Ross's approach is not simply about identifying what he likes.

It also involves deciding what he will not chase at the current price.

Nvidia

Asked whether he would add $NVIDIA(NVDA)$ before earnings, Ross said he remains constructive on the company but would not add at the current level after its multi-year run.

He is not bearish—but believes the asymmetric upside is less compelling than it was earlier in the cycle.

SpaceX

Ross also remains cautious on $SpaceX(SPCX)$ at current levels.

After its post-IPO rally and subsequent correction, he said he sees the possibility of another move below 100 before the valuation becomes more attractive to him.

The principle is the same in both cases:

A great company still needs the right price.

🥇 Gold and Silver Are Coming Back Onto the Radar

Ross's cycle framework extends beyond equities.

His fund built positions in gold and silver from late 2024 into early 2025, then exited after the metals entered what he described as a parabolic move.

After the subsequent correction, Ross said his team began rebuilding exposure from around mid-July into early August.

For him, this is another example of the same rule:

A strong long-term asset can become a poor trade when prices run too far ahead—and become attractive again after expectations reset.

⚠️ What Could Go Wrong?

Ross highlighted several risks investors should continue monitoring.

1. Rising Equity Supply

He is watching unusually heavy issuance across IPOs, SPACs, new shares, and convertible securities.

His concern is basic supply and demand:

If the supply of equities rises faster than investor demand, one of the market's structural supports weakens.

Rather than treating this as proof of an imminent downturn, Ross sees it as an unusual condition worth monitoring.

2. Jackson Hole and September Volatility

Ross sees late August through September as a potential volatility window, particularly as monetary-policy expectations shift.

3. U.S. Midterm Elections

He also expects politics to become increasingly relevant. Ross's current view is that Democrats have a strong chance of taking the House, which could make policy implementation more difficult and introduce another source of market uncertainty.

4. Parabolic Price Action

Whether it is AI, memory chips, gold or silver, Ross is cautious when an asset enters a near-vertical rally.

His rule of thumb:

Parabolic moves eventually require a reset.

💬 Words from Ross

"There is no doubt that the long-term trend is for everyone to embrace AI. But trading is different."

"The AI revolution and the AI bubble have always ridden on the same train."

"There is no doubt that it is a great company, but even a great company needs to be bought at the right price."

"Value investing is actually one of the most typical forms of market timing."

Closing Takeaway

Ross's June exit was not a rejection of AI.

It was a risk-management decision inside a much longer technology cycle.

Now, with more cash available, he is gradually looking beyond the most crowded AI trades—toward hyperscalers on attractive pullbacks, power and energy infrastructure, industrials, financials, cybersecurity and selected macro assets.

The bigger lesson is not simply where Ross is buying next.

It is how he separates long-term conviction from short-term positioning.

AI may still be one of the defining investment themes of the next several years. But in Ross's framework, the right question is never just:

"Is this a good company?"

It is also:

"Is this the right price, at the right point in the cycle?"

Post-Event Resources

Viewers can follow @Ross_Macro_Trading on the Tiger Community, his YouTube channel TMI Partner, or his X account, Ross Dong. More of his market views and research are also available through his official website, tmipartner.com.

🐯 Your Turn: Join the Discussion

Which part of Ross's next-stage positioning looks most compelling to you?

• ⚡ Power and energy

• 🏦 Financials

• 🏭 Industrials

• ☁️ Hyperscalers

• 🥇 Gold and silver

And after the recent AI correction, are you adding exposure, staying defensive, or waiting for another pullback?

Share your view below and compare how other investors are positioning for the next stage of the AI cycle.