Bill Ackman Says We’re In A “Classic Bubble” That’s “Fueled By The Fed”

Well known hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is the latest to join the chorus of high profile Wall Street veterans to issue warnings about the state of the market.

Following cautious comments last week from Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon, Ackman said this week that the market is in a "classic bubble" that has been created by the Fed’s easy money policies. 

Ackman also predicted that the Fed would have to tighten and raise rates to fight inflation, according to Reuters. 

At a conference sponsored by S&P Global Ratings last week, Ackman said: "We are in a classic bubble which has been driven by the Fed." 

"Every indicator is flashing red," he said, talking about rising prices across asset classes.

Ackman referred to inflation as the biggest risk for his hedge fund this year and predicted the Fed would have to raise rates soon. 

"I think the Fed will be forced to tighten much more quickly," he said, noting that the Fed’s current easy money policy isn’t doing a great job of bringing people back into the workforce.

He predicted that recent price increases "may not be transitory" and, instead, could be the result of structural changes. 

His comments came days after CPI numbers showed that prices in October were up 6.2% over the last 12 months. 

Last month, after being invited to give a presentation to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Ackman suggested the Fed "taper immediately and begin raising rates as soon as possible."

Recall, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon also issued a warning last week. He said:

"When I step back and think about my 40-year career, there have been periods of time when greed has far outpaced fear — we are in one of those periods," Solomon said during an interview at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore.

"My experience says those periods aren’t long-lived. Something will rebalance it and bring a little bit more perspective. And given it feels like inflation is running above trend, chances are interest rates will move up and that will take some of the exuberance out of certain markets." he said.