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Institutional Investors and the QE Portfolio Balance Channel

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  • MICHAEL A.S. JOYCE
  • ZHUOSHI LIU
  • IAN TONKS

Abstract

The operation of the portfolio balance channel has been emphasized by monetary policymakers as a key channel through which quantitative easing (QE) policies work. We assess whether the investment behavior of insurance companies and pension funds in the United Kingdom during the global financial crisis was consistent with such an effect by analyzing both sectoral and institution‐level data. Our results suggest QE led to institutional investors shifting their portfolios away from government bonds toward corporate bonds but did not lead to a shift into equities.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael A.S. Joyce & Zhuoshi Liu & Ian Tonks, 2017. "Institutional Investors and the QE Portfolio Balance Channel," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(6), pages 1225-1246, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jmoncb:v:49:y:2017:i:6:p:1225-1246
    DOI: 10.1111/jmcb.12415
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    Cited by:

    1. Neely, Christopher J., 2022. "How persistent are unconventional monetary policy effects?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    2. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2020_016 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Julia Giese & Michael Joyce & Jack Meaning & Jack Worlidge, 2021. "Preferred habitat investors in the UK government bond market," Bank of England working papers 939, Bank of England.
    4. Walter D’Lima & Paul Schultz, 2022. "Buy-to-Rent Investors and the Market for Single Family Homes," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 64(1), pages 116-152, January.
    5. Olli-Matti Laine, 2023. "Monetary Policy and Stock Market Valuation," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 19(1), pages 365-416, March.
    6. Martijn Boermans & Tomás Carrera de Souza & Robert Vermeulen, 2025. "Quantitative easing and preferred habitat investors in the euro area bond market," Working Papers 826, DNB.
    7. Cenedese, Gino & Elard, Ilaf, 2021. "Unconventional monetary policy and the portfolio choice of international mutual funds," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    8. Wang, Ling, 2022. "The dynamics of money supply determination under asset purchase programs: A market-based versus a bank-based financial system," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    9. Martijn Boermans & Viacheslav Keshkov, 2018. "The impact of the ECB asset purchases on the European bond market structure: Granular evidence on ownership concentration," DNB Working Papers 590, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    10. Hideaki Matsuoka, 2022. "Debt Intolerance: Threshold Level and Composition," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 84(4), pages 894-932, August.
    11. Laine, Olli-Matti, 2020. "Monetary policy and stock market valuation," Research Discussion Papers 16/2020, Bank of Finland.
    12. Imran Shah & Francesca Schmidt-Fischer & Issam Malki, 2018. "The portfolio balance channel: an analysis on the impact of quantitative easing on the US stock market," Department of Economics Working Papers 74/18, University of Bath, Department of Economics.
    13. Shah, Imran Hussain & Schmidt-Fischer, Francesca & Malki, Issam & Hatfield, Richard, 2019. "A structural break approach to analysing the impact of the QE portfolio balance channel on the US stock market," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 204-220.
    14. Iryna Kaminska & Alex Kontoghiorghes & Walker Ray, 2025. "QT versus QE: who is in when the central bank is out?," Bank of England working papers 1108, Bank of England.
    15. Stefan Avdjiev & Mary Everett & Hyun Song Shin, 2019. "Following the imprint of the ECB's asset purchase programme on global bond and deposit flows," BIS Quarterly Review, Bank for International Settlements, March.
    16. Laine, Olli-Matti & Pihlajamaa, Matias, 2024. "Pushing and pulling on a string? Inflationary effects of expansionary and contractionary monetary policies when rates are negative," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    17. Pick-Schen Yip & Wee-Yeap Lau & Robert Brooks, 2023. "The Liquidity Effect of the U.S. QE on Sovereign Yield Spreads of Commodity-Exporting Countries," Commodities, MDPI, vol. 2(2), pages 1-16, April.
    18. Yao, Wei, 2025. "The US Quantitative Easing Monetary Policy and Commodities’ Prices," Other publications TiSEM 185d14d3-9dc2-4276-82ec-e, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    19. Tischer, Johannes, 2018. "Quantitative easing, portfolio rebalancing and credit growth: Micro evidence from Germany," Discussion Papers 20/2018, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    20. Albertazzi, Ugo & Barbiero, Francesca & Marqués-Ibáñez, David & Popov, Alexander & Rodriguez d’Acri, Costanza & Vlassopoulos, Thomas, 2020. "Monetary policy and bank stability: the analytical toolbox reviewed," Working Paper Series 2377, European Central Bank.
    21. Wang, Ling, 2023. "Central bank asset purchases, banks’ risky security holdings and profitability: Macro and micro evidence from Japan and the U.S," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 347-364.

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