Poll: Which Characteristic of the Next Fed Chairperson Is Most Important?

World news media are rife with speculation about who will be the next chair of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, arguably the most important central banker in the world. In a poll conducted earlier this week in the CFA Institute Financial NewsBrief, we asked readers which characteristic, from an investor’s point of view, they considered the most important for the next Fed chair.

For investors, which perceived characteristic of the next chairperson of the Federal Reserve is most important?

Of the five characteristics listed, none emerged as a dominant choice of the 808 respondents. However, political independence (35%) was regarded as the most important characteristic by the highest number of respondents, followed closely by competence and track record as an economist (33%). Recognition and acceptability in financial markets was a distant third, and the remaining characteristics did not reach double digits. Fewer than 2% of respondents said the most important characteristic was not listed. At the risk of generalizing from these results, one might say that the desired characteristics for the next Fed chair are probably not very different from those for any technocrat holding public office, most notably, political neutrality and technical competence.

Please note that the content of this site should not be construed as investment advice, nor do the opinions expressed necessarily reflect the views of CFA Institute.