Bill Gross said the Federal Reserve needs to raise interest rates as soon as possible, trading some near-term market losses for longer-term stability and a healthier financial system.
If zero interest rates become the long-term norm, economic participants will soon run on empty because their investments aren't producing the gains or cash flow needed to finance past promises in an aging society, he wrote in an investment outlook on Wednesday for Denver-based Janus
Capital Group Inc. That's already beginning to happen in the developed world, where Detroit, Puerto Rico, and, he predicts, soon Chicago, struggle to meet their liabilities.
'GET OFF ZERO'
“My advice to them is this: get off zero and get off quick,” Mr. Gross urged the central bankers. It's time for a “new thesis” that allows people in developed economies to save, enabling liability-based businesses models to survive and spurring more private investment, “which is the essence of a healthy economy. Near term pain? Yes. Long term gain? Almost certainly. Get off zero now!”
(More: Federal Reserve's focus on global economic strength radically alters the rate-hike odds)
The Fed last week decided to
keep its benchmark rate near zero, showing reluctance to end an era of record monetary stimulus in a time of market turmoil, rising international risks and slow inflation at home. Futures traders are betting the Fed is unlikely to act in October, as they put 41% odds on an increase in December and 48% in January, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
'REVOLVING SPIT'
Mr. Gross joined Janus about a year ago after leaving Pacific Investment Management Co., where he once ran the world's biggest mutual fund. He now oversees the $1.4 billion Janus Global Unconstrained Bond Fund. The fund lost 1.7% this year, putting it behind 76% of similar funds, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
(More: Pimco on the mend but still feeling impact of Gross exit a year later)
Mr. Gross underscored that it's not just insurance companies and giant pension funds that are suffering from low interest rates. Investors aren't getting the 8% to 10% returns they counted on to pay for education, health care, retirement or vacation.
“Mainstream America with their 401(k)s are in a similar pickle,” he wrote. “They are not so much in a pickle barrel as they are on a revolving spit, being slowly cooked alive while central bankers focus on their Taylor models and fight non-existent inflation,” Mr. Gross said, referring to a rule named for Stanford University economist John Taylor.
