New York (HedgeCo.net) – With so much attention being paid to the Fed and when the process of raising rates might start, it doesn’t hurt to hear from a well-respected hedge fund manager. Omega Advisors CEO Leon Cooperman recently offered his opinion on what he thinks will happen during an interview with FOX Business Network.

“We have a Fed that has been very reluctant to do much of anything, I find it interesting this fixation [on when the Fed will tighten], the reality is … over the last 8 market cycles when the Fed began tightening, the stock market did not peak after the first Fed tightening for 30 months on average, and the shortest period of time was 10 months. On average, the market was about 10 percent higher one year after the first Fed tightening … The market already understands rates should be higher,” he said.

Cooperman also stated that he thinks the market as a whole is fairly valued and not overvalued, stating “I think if the market went say, quickly up another 10 percent or so I might get nervous but I think the markets in a zone of fair valuation. It’s correctly assessing the outlook…I’m not nervous.”

Rick Pendergraft
Research Analyst
HedgeCoVest