Interest rates are rising! And, we suspect interest rates will rise much further. A most respected bond market guru, Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO of DoubleLine Capital and one of the world’s most successful bond investors, predicts a rise in bond yields that could lift the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to 6% in the next four or five years from its current level of 2.5%.

Trump’s pro-business agenda is inherently “unfriendly” to bonds, Gundlach says, as it could to lead to stronger economic growth and renewed inflation. Gundlach expects President-elect Trump to “amp up the deficit” to pay for infrastructure projects and other programs. That could produce an inflation rate of 3% and nominal growth of 4% to 6% in gross domestic product. “If nominal GDP pushes toward 4%, 5%, or even 6%, there is no way you are going to get bond yields to stay below 2%,” Gundlach says.

Additionally, the current FED Chairperson Janet Yellen’s tenure may end in 13 months. The new FED chair could sell, over time, the $3.5 Trillion of Treasury Bonds and mortgages the FED acquired since 2008. We reckon this will add substantial pressure to lift interest rates even higher.

NOTE: Keep in mind, rising interest rates reduces the price of bond and bond mutual fund currently owned. The longer the bond maturity, the larger the drop in price.

ACTION: Now is the time for implementing the following portfolio strategies: (1) eliminate long term bonds (over 15 years maturity) and long term bond mutual funds; and (2) reduce the holdings of intermediate term bonds and intermediate term bond mutual funds; and (3) invest the proceeds of (1) and (2) into short-term bonds.