The S&P 500 index has more than tripled from its March 2009 low, standing just below its record high close of 2,075.37.
But that puts it in dangerous territory, says James Rickards, senior global strategist at West Shore Funds and author of "The Death of Money: The Coming Collapse of the International Monetary System."
The U.S. stock market "just feels like a bubble to me," he tells
Kitco News. "I'm not saying it couldn't go up, they may go up more. But when they come down, they'll come down hard and fast, and I don't want to be around when that happens."
The S&P 500 had a trailing price-earnings ratio of 19.48 Friday, up from 18.57 a year ago, according to Birinyi Associates.
So how should investors approach 2015?
"The biggest challenge facing investors today is that we have inflation and deflation fighting each other at the same time, and you don't know which way it's going to tip," Rickards states. "You need to be prepared for both."
For someone putting money to work next year, Rickards recommends a 30 percent weighting in cash, 20 percent in gold, 20 percent in inverse-junk bond exchange-traded funds, 20 percent in alternative investments and 10 percent in 10-year Treasurys.
"It's really, really important to be diversified," he notes, explaining that being diversified means being in different asset classes, not owning different stocks.
"You can't get whipped around by the day-to-day, so I recommend patience."
As for stocks, not everyone is so worried. Jonathan Golub, chief U.S. market strategist for RBC, predicts they will advance another 12 to 15 percent next year. A 15 percent rise from the S&P 500's level of Monday morning would put the index at 2,383.
"I think the year ahead will look strikingly similar to what we saw in 2014,"
Golub tells CNBC. That's "not because the economy is surging, but because interest rates will stay low, inflation will stay low and corporations are going to do a great job managing expenses and buybacks."
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