Global ratings agency, Fitch estimates that the value of Quantitative Easing (QE) implemented this year could reach $9 trillion! To put that in context, that is equal to more than half the cumulative total global QE that occurred between 2009 and 2018! The Federal Reserve in the US has alone pumped $4 trillion into the market over the past 11 weeks. This is absolutely unprecedented.

Should investors be worried about the long-term impact of all this money printing (QE)? What are the risks that we need to be aware of?

The role of central banks

Central banks around the world are in charge of monetary policy. The aim of monetary policy is to ensure a healthy economy and an inflation rate that is within the stated goal.

When the economic activity increases and the economy approaches fully capacity, inflation can begin to increase. In this situation, the central bank would normally increase interest rates (to reduce corporate profits and consumer spending) to cool economic demand. If the economy slows down, the central bank can cut rates to stimulate demand again.

Interest rates is a central bank’s primary tool.

But what can a central bank do when rates are at or close to zero? Of course, they can contemplate negative interest rates (e.g. in Germany, banks are paying borrowers to take out loans), but that is largely ineffective.

What is QE?

When interest rates stop being an effective monetary policy tool, central banks start to consider more unconventional mechanisms such as QE. QE is the process of a central bank buying assets such as bonds. They do that by issuing new currency i.e. increasing money supply (often referred to as money printing). The aim is to stimulate the economy as a whole through injecting more money into the economy.

The US Federal Reserve started buying Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) in 2009 to help the US recover from the impact of the GFC. The idea is that lenders could sell MBS to the Fed Reserve to raise funds. In doing so, banks would then have more funds to lend to property investors and homeowners. In turn this should stimulate demand for housing and aid in the property market’s recovery. To a large degree, it worked.

QE is not limited to MBS, however. Central banks can buy other assets includin

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