WASHINGTON — When the Federal Reserve announced the end of its landmark bond buying program Wednesday, it also signaled the start of something else:

The Janet Yellen era.

Officially, Yellen has been Fed chair since February. But the phase-out of the bond-buying stimulus program Yellen inherited from her predecessor, Ben Bernanke, truly marks her inauguration. She can now begin to fully stamp her influence on the central bank.

With the job market showing steady gains, Yellen must grapple with the fateful decision of when to raise short-term interest rates, which the Fed has kept at record lows since 2008 to help the economy.

“Janet Yellen’s ability to place her mark on the nation’s monetary policy is only now opening up,” said Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West. “It will largely be Yellen” who guides rates back to their historic averages from near-zero levels.

Yellen will also preside over the unwinding of the Fed’s vast portfolio of bonds, which its purchases have magnified to more than $4 trillion, a record high. The bond buying had been designed to keep long-term loan rates low.

Bernanke’s tenure at the Fed was focused on bolstering the financial system and rescuing the economy. Yellen’s will require a delicate balancing act to bring the Fed back to normal: She must withdraw the Fed’s stimulus without destabilizing the economy.

“If we’re moving to an era where things will become less accommodative, then we’re in the Yellen era,” said Jay Bryson, a global economist at Wells Fargo.

In a statement it issued after ending a policy meeting Wednesday, the Fed noted hiring is strengthening and the excess of would-be job holders is “gradually diminishing.” Accordingly, it must eventually withdraw its stimulus.

The Fed’s statement was approved 9-1.