Putting the Fed’s balance sheet in perspective
Along with fiscal stimulus, the aggressive support of financial markets by the Federal Reserve (and other central banks) has been a key to the gains in risk assets since April. In our view, stock and bond prices would not be as high as they are if not for the perception that the Fed will step in with additional support if markets get too volatile. This perceived “Fed put” is on top of the ongoing bond buying programs (excluding the immediate post-COVID surge) that are currently running at a rate of about $80 billion per month for Treasuries and $40 billion per month for mortgage backed securities, though some of this replaces expiring bonds.