Practical analysis for investment professionals
12 March 2015

Poll: Will the US Federal Reserve Hike Interest Rates as Planned?

Posted In: Economics

When will the US economy be strong enough for the US Federal Reserve to start increasing interest rates? Janet Yellen, head of the central bank, recently commented that US employment has been “improving on many dimensions,” laying the groundwork for a potential hike in rates.

Peter Schiff recently wrote an article describing how the market is now fixated on the Fed’s use of the word “patient” and whether the Fed will drop that word from its statements about Fed policy, signaling that it might raise rates soon. The market hangs on every word.

According to a recent Fox Business article, Fed funds futures are implying a 40-bps increase by year-end 2015, with a 60% chance of a 50-bps hike. Given the potential impact on markets of a material change in US monetary policy, we asked CFA Institute Financial NewsBrief readers whether the Fed might go through with its proposed rate hike. Of the 873 respondents, 58% believe that we will see a rate hike soon, whereas only 33% believe that the Fed will maintain its zero interest-rate policy (ZIRP). The remaining 9% are undecided.


Will the US Federal Reserve hike interest rates as planned?

Poll: Will the United States go through with Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes as planned?


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All posts are the opinion of the author. As such, they should not be construed as investment advice, nor do the opinions expressed necessarily reflect the views of CFA Institute or the author’s employer.

About the Author(s)
Ron Rimkus, CFA

Ron Rimkus, CFA, was Director of Economics & Alternative Assets at CFA Institute, where he wrote about economics, monetary policy, currencies, global macro, behavioral finance, fixed income and alternative investments, such as gold and bitcoin (among other things). Previously, he served as SVP and Director of Large-cap Equity Products for BB&T Asset Management, where he led a team of research analysts, 300 regional portfolio managers, client service specialists, and marketing staff. He also served as a Senior Vice President and Lead Portfolio Manager of large-cap equity products at Mesirow Financial. Rimkus earned a BA degree in economics from Brown University and his MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA. Topical Expertise: Alternative Investments · Economics

3 thoughts on “Poll: Will the US Federal Reserve Hike Interest Rates as Planned?”

  1. Joseph says:

    If you follow the permanent portfolio investment strategy, you don’t care what interest rates are doing because you are well positioned for any economic condition: prosperity, inflation, deflation or recession.

  2. jman says:

    Hmmm….

    Imagine a world where the mere word “patient” can move billions of dollars. Sounds bubblish to me

  3. soccer news says:

    Thanks a lot, Loads of info.

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