Why now is the sweet spot for active bond management
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.
Fixed-interest ETFs supplanting bank hybrids in retail portfolios: AUSIEX
APRA’s decision to draw the curtain on this controversial investment that blends debt and equity might be seven years away, but investors are increasingly looking elsewhere to get this asset fix, with some of the more adventuresome venturing offshore.
The overlooked gem that’s not in Australian portfolios
The broadening menu of yield-bearing investments available to Australian investors in recent years has given much broader scope for diversified allocations. But there is one segment that is noticeable by its absence.
Assessing risk/return in a falling rate environment
With a rate-cutting cycle underway, it can be tempting to search for higher-yielding investments. However, it’s important to also consider risk in a volatile and uncertain environment.
The quiet evolution of 'green' bonds in global portfolios
The ‘green bond’ market, once a niche segment, is now emerging as a core allocation within institutional fixed income portfolios. And as the sector develops, investors increasingly see the bonds as exactly that: just bonds, without the qualifier.
Back in black: the new rules of fixed income
At the recent Investment Leaders Forum in Byron Bay, Dr. Christian Baylis, the founder and CIO of Fortlake Asset Management, delivered a dense, high-speed exposition of credit markets today: what’s broken, what’s misunderstood, and what’s ripe for reinvention.
Rehabilitating duration: the hidden strength of fixed income
For much of the last decade, fixed income has been the dinner guest that no one wanted to sit next to. Low yields, scarring losses, and correlation breakdowns left duration firmly out of favour. But, argues Haran Karunakaran, Investment Director at Capital Group, that sentiment may be both outdated and dangerously misaligned with the realities of today’s market.
Better than hybrids, but hiding in plain sight
The planned transition of $44 billion worth of additional Tier 1 (AT1) bank hybrids to Tier 2 capital by 2032 will see the last bank hybrid disappear by March 2032, bringing to an end an era that income-oriented Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) investors will remember mostly fondly. In this guest article, Simon Dawkins, Partner and Head of Capital Markets at Escala Partners, lifts the lid on a better alternative for sophisticated investors.
The fixed income outlook: Sunny with a chance of showers
An audience of advisers, researchers, and asset allocators gathered in Sydney last week for an intimate discussion with Haran Karunakaran, dissecting the unique opportunities and challenges facing fixed income investing today. Against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, where inflationary pressures, central bank policies and liquidity concerns intersect, Karunakaran, fixed income investment director at Capital Group, painted a nuanced picture of...
Investment bonds gaining popularity as a gift to help younger generations: KeyInvest
A confluence of compounding returns, further contributions and tax-paid status make investment bonds an attractive option for grandparents looking to give their loved ones a financial leg-up in life.
Playing it 'straight down the middle' suits this industry veteran
Fixed income has evolved tremendously over the decades, but one maxim Roy Keenan has stuck with has lost none of its utility; stick with a process that's tried and tested, and you'll keep things from falling apart.
Bond attraction firms as rate cuts swell yields and non-correlation returns
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.
'The foundations are pretty soft': Correlation considerations taking centre stage
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 art of losing less, and why there's beauty in the predictability of bonds
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.
Using the default system to reduce correlation with Fortlake AM
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.
Why fixed income is back (and better than ever)
Duration is no longer a dirty word. Private debt is a house of cards. Welcome to the new era of fixed income.
Credit to sail through cycles: The case for investment-grade debt
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 urges investors to take the sustainable path
Foresters is addressing the gap in responsible fixed income investment by offering a sustainability overlay across its funeral, investment and education bond products.
Three reasons senior secured loans can shine through the uncertainty: Invesco
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.
Neuberger Berman finds quality in agency mortgage-backed securities
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.
