Market turmoil offers chance to pick quality assets in “lemons market”: El-Erian

Economist Mohamed El-Erian

Economist Mohamed El-Erian said the recent volatility in global markets reflects a growing sense of forced selling and the contagion effects that follow.

In a post on X on Thursday — amid declines in silver and bitcoin — El-Erian raised the question of when buyers would step in to capitalize on what is known as the "market for lemons" phenomenon.

He noted that the opportunity lies in identifying quality assets that have been hurt merely due to their proximity to broader market stress, despite remaining fundamentally sound, as sellers are forced to liquidate them to cover losses in other positions.