MetLife's Drew Matus Warns of Fed Rate Cut Risks & Market Reaction (Nov 2025)

On November 17, 2025, Drew Matus, Chief Market Strategist at MetLife Investment Management, appeared on CNBC’s Money Movers to warn that “it could be risky for the Fed not to cut rates in December” [1]. This follows a prior Nov 13 comment where Matus described the Fed’s December rate cut decision as “obvious” due to economic concerns [2]. Matus’s views align with MetLife’s March 2025 macro strategy report, which projected two additional rate cuts by year-end 2025 [4].

Matus’s comments coincided with broad market declines on Nov 17:

• Major indices closed lower: Dow Jones (-0.78%), S&P 500 (-0.56%), NASDAQ (-0.46%) [0].
• The
  Financial Services sector
  (MetLife’s industry) was the worst performer (-2.17%) [0], suggesting investor sensitivity to rate cut uncertainty.
• MetLife’s stock (MET) dropped 3.89% to $75.57, with volume of 1.96M shares [0].

The negative reaction in financials may reflect investor concerns about the impact of delayed rate cuts on interest-sensitive sectors like insurance and banking. Matus’s warning likely amplified these fears, contributing to the sector’s underperformance [0,3].

• MetLife (MET):
  3.89% decline on Nov17 (open: $78.63, close: $75.57; volume:1.96M) [0].
• Financial Services Sector:
  -2.17% (worst-performing sector) [0].
• Major Indices:
  Dow (-0.78%), S&P500 (-0.56%), NASDAQ (-0.46%) [0].

These data points indicate a direct market reaction to Matus’s rate cut warning, particularly in interest-rate-sensitive assets [0,2].

• Directly Impacted:
  MetLife (MET) [0].
• Related Sector:
  Financial Services (worst performer on Nov17) [0].
• Broader Market:
  S&P500, NASDAQ, Dow Jones indices [0].

• Full Transcript:
  The YouTube crawl did not include the full transcript of Matus’s Nov17 comments, leaving details of his risk assessment unclear [1].
• Current Fed Futures:
  No up-to-date data on market expectations for December rate cuts (the latest available is August 2025, showing 55 basis points expected by December) [3].
• Average Volume:
  Missing data on MET’s average trading volume to contextualize the 1.96M shares traded on Nov17 [0].

• Matus’s View:
  Delaying rate cuts in December poses risks to the economy [1,2].
• Market Reaction:
  Investors reacted negatively, especially in financials, suggesting concerns about the impact of higher rates on sector profitability [0].

• Users should be aware that the sharp decline in the Financial Services sector (-2.17%) and MetLife’s stock (-3.89%) on Nov17 may reflect ongoing investor anxiety about rate policy, which could continue to impact interest-sensitive assets [0].
• This development raises concerns about potential volatility in financial stocks if the Fed deviates from market expectations for December rate cuts [2,4].

• Fed Communications:
  FOMC minutes, speeches from Fed officials, and December rate decision [3,4].
• Economic Data:
  Jobs reports, inflation figures, and GDP growth (to validate Matus’s economic concerns) [2,3].
• Sector Performance:
  Financial Services sector trends to gauge ongoing investor sentiment [0].

[0] Ginlix Analytical Database.
[1] YouTube: MetLife’s Drew Matus: It could be risky for the Fed not to cut in December (Nov17,2025). URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHqwFQ1ZTHw.
[2] CNBC: Fed’s December decision ‘obvious’ as something isn’t right with the economy: MetLife’s Drew Matus (Nov13,2025). URL: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/11/13/feds-december-decision-obvious-as-something-isnt-right-with-the-economy-metlifes-drew-matus.html.
[3] Reuters: Wall St Week Ahead US jobs data poses hurdle for rate-cut hopes… (Aug29,2025). URL: https://www.reuters.com/business/wall-st-week-ahead-us-jobs-data-poses-hurdle-rate-cut-hopes-stocks-rally-2025-08-29/.
[4] MetLife Investment Management: A Return to Uncertainty (Mar19,2025). URL: https://investments.metlife.com/content/dam/metlifecom/us/investments/insights/research-topics/macro-strategy/images-new/article/a-return-to-uncertainty.pdf.

This report provides factual context and does not constitute investment advice. Users should conduct further research before making decisions.