There is no Dalai Lama of interest rates! Forget the fantasy.

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Anyone who has studied financial history knows that no one can predict interest rates with any consistency.  There are always reasons why rates could go up and why rates could go down.  Whatever direction someone thinks they will go, they speak about the evidence that supports that viewpoint.

Some investors have predicted rates correctly at times and it really benefited them.  They come out of obscurity and become a household name. Suddenly, a halo popped up around their head, the sky opened up and the angels sang.  Their "fan base" grew exponentially and people started to hang on their every word (herding bias). Then, comes the inevitable string of mis-predictions.  The halo disappears, the skies close and the rain torrent starts. 

Correctly predicting interest rates is what they call in the record business (music business for you younger folks!) - a one hit wonder. 

The best you can do with interest rates is to receive some benefit from higher rates while taking actions that protect your downside. Usually, this means laddering your maturities and taking a protected position.  

Well known investors guess (yes, I said GUESS) at rates all the time, but usually the "pundits" equivocate in their responses.  Listen carefully.... It is akin to hearing a politician.  

Like the old country song goes "sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug"!

Copyright 2017 Mark T. McLaren