Fixed Income

With rates well and truly crested and bonds once again showing their strength as a defensive ballast mechanism, Capital Group believes the time might be right for investors to swap out cash-like investment vehicles for investment grade credit.

With the danger of fractured markets inflated, the need for a truly non-correlative asset is at a premium. And with the default system cleaned up, Fortlake saw an opportunity to provide investors with the ultimate diversifier.

The key to employing defensive assets effectively, Burtenshaw explained, is knowing what it will do and how it will act. “If an asset isn’t actually predictable, then it’s hard to defend,” he said.

The tranche market isn’t the defining feature of Fortlake’s fixed income funds, Baylis explained, but it’s a pivotal tool for the firm’s managers and adds a critical element of non-correlative returns for investors.

Duration is no longer a dirty word. Private debt is a house of cards. Welcome to the new era of fixed income.

As we approach the bottom of the current cycle, fixed income is back to playing its traditional defensive role, says Yarra Capital Management’s Roy Keenan. To get equity-like returns without exposure to defaults, investment-grade credit should do the trick.

Foresters is addressing the gap in responsible fixed income investment by offering a sustainability overlay across its funeral, investment and education bond products.

The uncertainty seen in markets over 2023 will likely continue over the calender year, but Invesco sees a lot of positives for loans that can only benefit investors.

Amidst a tough environment for fixed income, agency mortgage-backed securities are one of Neuberger Berman’s highest conviction areas of relative value in the asset class.

The Bank of Japan has been marching to a different beat than other central banks. While the Federal Reserve, ECB and Bank of England hurried to ramp up rates in a battle against inflation, a deflationary mist lingered over Japan. Until now…

Many end-investors might assume that it is equities managers that are most at risk from whipsawing jerks in market sentiment, but fixed-income managers, too, can find themselves out of position very quickly, as something they did not see coming… comes.

The bond market has never had great investment appeal for Australia’s self-managed superannuation funds, but with rising yields improving their proposition, some observers say the investment tide may be coming in for fixed interest.