Deutsche Bank’s George Saravelos says investors should not assume the U.S. dollar will rise whenever markets turn risk-averse. If an AI-led correction starts in the United States, falling confidence in U.S. assets could pressure both stocks and the dollar—especially if overseas investors hedge or reduce their exposure. This is a risk scenario, not a prediction that the dollar will fail as a haven in every crisis.
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Why foreign investors matter
Deutsche Bank’s reported estimate is that foreign equity inflows currently finance the entire U.S. current-account deficit. Overseas investors also hold more than $20 trillion in U.S. equities, with roughly 90% of that value attributed to price appreciation rather than underlying purchases.
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These figures describe different things. Inflows provide financing; price appreciation increases the value of existing holdings without bringing in new money. The concern is that if confidence in U.S. growth or AI returns falters, foreign investors might supply less new capital, sell existing assets, or protect the value of their holdings against currency moves. The 90% figure does not mean that investors are bound to sell; it highlights the scale of their exposure and the importance of what they do next.
How stocks and the dollar could fall together
In a more familiar risk-off pattern, investors sell equities and seek the relative safety or liquidity of dollars. Saravelos’s concern is that a U.S.-originated shock could work differently: if the source of market stress is doubt about U.S. companies and returns, investors may pull back from both U.S. shares and the currency. Recent episodes of technology stocks and the dollar weakening at the same time are part of the reason Deutsche Bank says the usual relationship should not be taken for granted.
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Currency hedging offers another route to dollar weakness. A foreign investor can keep U.S. shares but sell dollars forward to reduce the effect of exchange-rate moves on returns measured in their home currency. That means dollar selling need not require a wholesale exit from U.S. equities. Reuters has described increased hedging as one possible explanation for the dollar’s weakness after the “Liberation Day” market turmoil, even as U.S. stocks and Treasuries recovered their year-to-date losses.
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Why the warning surfaced during the AI selloff
The immediate backdrop was a technology-sector decline following disappointing results and outlooks from major companies, including Amazon and Intel. Reporting tied the selloff to investor questions about whether heavy AI spending would deliver sufficient returns.
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7 Market coverage also described support for Treasuries, the yen and the Swiss franc as investors sought defensive assets.
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That mix illustrates why “flight to safety” does not always mean buying the dollar. Investors may choose government bonds or other currencies, while lower U.S. yields can add pressure to the dollar. In this episode, the yen and Swiss franc gained support alongside bonds, while the technology selloff raised doubts about the payoff from AI investment.
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What would show whether the risk is building?
A single session of falling stocks and a weaker dollar would not establish that Saravelos’s warning is playing out. More persuasive evidence would include repeated joint declines during U.S.-specific AI shocks, weaker foreign demand for U.S. equities, more currency hedging, or signs that overseas investors are repatriating funds. The mechanism would also need to be distinguished from other drivers, such as changing interest-rate expectations.
The risk could fade if AI-related earnings and investment returns remain strong, foreign financing continues, or a broader funding panic triggers enough demand for dollars to offset selling and hedging. The key point is narrower: when the shock is about confidence in U.S. assets themselves, the dollar’s traditional safe-haven response may be less reliable than investors expect.
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