What should you do if interest rates rise?

Answer 1

This is a pretty open ended question. I'll answer it from the perspective of investing.

Rising interest rates directly impact bond performance. Generally speaking, if interest rates rise the value of bond investments fall. Not all bond investments have the same sensitivity to changes in interest rates, but most have at least some. Longer bonds tend to be more sensitive to interest rate changes than shorter bonds, and credit sensitive bonds like corporate bonds tend to be less sensitive to changes in interest rates.

As far as actions to take when interest rates rise goes, it really depends on the investors situation. If an investor isn't comfortable the level of volatility that they are experiencing, then a change in the strategy may be needed. Unfortunately, prices have already fallen, so having to change strategy after a period of rising interest rates goes against the strategy of buying low and selling high, but interest rates could keep rising so it's important to consider your risk tolerance going forward.

Higher interest rates can also have an effect on stock prices. As the interest rates rise, the cost of borrowing for companies goes up and eats into earnings. Sometimes those higher costs can be passed along to customers, but often times they can't. Rising interest rates often cause pullbacks of 10-20% and can even cause minor recessions. The effect on stocks could be exasperated by the extremely low levels of interest rates currently in the market.