Results from ConvergEx Group’s US Monetary Policy Survey suggest the Federal Reserve is ‘behind the curve’.
The survey explores financial industry sentiment about the Federal Reserve, Chairwoman Janet Yellen and the US monetary policy heading into the annual economic symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Chairwoman Yellen received a ‘B’ grade from financial professionals, but fewer than half (49 percent) of respondents approved of the job the Federal Reserve is doing.
Fifty-nine percent described the Federal Reserve as being ‘behind the curve’ with respect to interest rates, while 32 percent say interest rates are where they should be. Only 38 percent say they are ‘confident’ or ‘very confident’ that the Federal Reserve will make the right policy decisions.
A majority of 66 percent said the Federal Reserve has too much influence on capital markets.
Nicholas Colas, ConvergEx Group’s chief market strategist, said: “The financial industry likes Yellen, but believes she leads a central bank that is overexposed and behind the curve.”
“There’s tangible fear among investment professionals about the unwinding quantitative easing and the painful increases in rates that will follow.”
“Our survey shows that [Yellen] is seen as a strong leader, and investors do not want to scrap the structure of the [Federal Reserve], but there is real concern about what happens next.”
