The crucial question for investors: Do they believe that long-term interest rates will remain low for a long time?

Long-term interest rates are now very low (we look at the United States and the euro zone), thanks to the low inflation and the expansionary monetary policies. I f they remain very low for a long time, then the prices of various assets linked to long-term interest rates (equities, real estate, infrastructure, LBOs, etc.) are still low compared with the fundamentals and the returns on these assets are still attractive. But if long-term interest rates are likely to rise markedly in the future, then all these asset classes are , on the contrary, already too expensive. A fundamental question for investors is therefore: are long-term interest rates going to remain low for a long time? Could there be a shock driving up long-term interest rates sharply?