“Search for yield” activities First I would like to address a frequently cited remark that unconventional monetary stimulus could destabilize financial markets and the economy at large by encouraging “search for yield” activities among investors and thus creating financial imbalances.
As one of their transmission channels, unconventional monetary policy measures including the QQE aim to promote portfolio rebalancing by investors and thus push down the risk premium in prices of various asset classes. In this regard, one can say that a rise in asset prices and a decline in volatility are intended effects of the QQE.