In markets defined by volatility, the instinct is to react: to reposition portfolios, chase momentum or retreat altogether. But for investors focused on long-term outcomes, the task is not simply responding to uncertainty, but interpreting it.
Early 2026 saw record issuance and robust demand – particularly from Asia and domestic income-focused investors – supporting the Australian bond market. And despite the volatility of March, the picture is still positive, for the discerning investor.
Leveraging an investment-grade credit portfolio was already a dubious strategy before the Middle East war broke out. It’s now an even worse idea, says Yarra Capital Management.
Where the US sharemarket index is concentrated in the “magnificent seven,” in Australia, it’s more like the “broken blue chips.” The notion that you can simply hold blue chips forever is now totally debunked.
There is renewed interest in Australian public credit: flows are increasing as investors seek diversification after a period of heavy allocation to private credit.
When Joel Fleming first stumbled into the world of the sharemarket as a Year 10 student playing the AMP-ASX sharemarket game, he had no idea it would become his life’s work.
Bond investors should consider if they are getting a sufficient return for the level of risk taken. For Yarra Capital’s Phil Strano, an actively managed strategy focused on a wider opportunity set may achieve better risk-adjusted returns.
A wave of global easing masks fragile economic growth beneath the surface. A late-cycle melt-up could ensue, but its foundations would be similarly shaky.
Focusing on benchmark-constrained strategies does not serve Australian fixed income investors well, argues a new white paper.
The global credit market is being quietly but fundamentally re-priced. There are signs that the long, comfortable era in which the US dollar’s reserve status has helped to inflate the size, depth and relative pricing of US corporate credit is beginning to fray. The A$ market could be a beneficiary.
Joel Fleming is most at home in a part of the stock market where not many analysts or fund managers venture. That’s just fine with him.
Investment-grade credit is having a moment. For Phil Strano, portfolio manager at Yarra Capital Management, the appeal lies not in hype or headlines, but in a confluence of fundamentals that are increasingly difficult for serious investors to ignore.
The global bond market is in flux. Yield curves are steepening, volatility remains elevated, and policy decisions are moving markets in ways that upend some of the more reliable patterns of the last decade. In this environment, active management and selective risk positioning across the curve isn’t just preferable – it’s essential.
SMSFs’ net assets have grown as fast or even faster than Large Super over recent years; and their investment returns have been vastly better. There is a simple explanation for this — and it’s one that you can be sure Treasurer Chalmers is all over.
Pushing bank AT1s into extinction well before APRA’s 2032 cut-off is of natural concern to many fixed income investors. Roy Keenan, Yarra Capital’s co-head of fixed income, looks at the implications and opportunities.
Whether you perceive the RBA’s messaging to be balanced or mixed, the uncertainty serves as a reminder that fixed income is a vital sleeve in any investment portfolio.
Investors will need to adjust their expectations (and portfolios) to account for higher for longer interest rates, slower economic growth, stickier inflation and a testing geopolitical environment. Keeping key pillars of quality in mind when assessing companies remains critical.
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.
