Fixed Income – Page 6
-
White papersA(nother) Cautious ECB Cut Amidst Uneasy Stability
The ECB unanimously cut its main policy rate to 3.5% at its September policy meeting, and we anticipate a gradual and limited path with further rate cuts, at least until the end of 2024.
-
White papersInflation Quarterly Monitor
Central banks continue to tread carefully when it comes to monetary easing, expressing cautious optimism about inflation yet refusing to commit on the future path of policy rate decisions. Amidst falling inflation and slowing growth, the added complexity of political risk in the US, Europe and the UK has brought greater uncertainty. Even after the European Central Bank (ECB) acted as the first mover to cut policy rates in June, other central banks did not immediately follow in their June meetings.
-
White papersHigh-Yield Bonds: Gaining Traction for Good Reason
High-yield bonds have become an increasingly popular investment choice. At Northern Trust Asset Management, we strongly believe this asset class is positioned to continue delivering the strong performance seen in the first half of 2024.
-
White papersMunicipal Fixed Income: Shelter From the Storm?
Technical factors and market volatility are creating a value opportunity in the U.S. municipal market. The summer months are typically a quieter, more predictable time in the municipal fixed income market, as supply tends to be modest and demand rises due to higher levels of bond reinvestment.
-
White papersRate cuts: Now may be the time to extend duration
With the Fed likely to begin its rate cutting cycle in September, investors should consider extending duration now in high-quality fixed income to capture potential gains. Historically, bond yields drop ahead of Fed rate cuts, offering a window of opportunity to enhance returns without waiting for official policy shifts. Positioning in longer-duration assets now can provide income stability and potential price appreciation in a slowing economy.
-
White papersWant to Optimize Your Fixed Income Strategy?
The debate between active and index investing has evolved. Now, the key question is whether active, index or systematic investing is more effective for specific fixed-income sectors and the asset class as a whole. Our latest paper, The Role of Active, Index and Systematic Investing in Fixed Income Portfolios.
-
White papersEndgame – the benefits of ‘buy and maintain’ credit
Due to higher gilt yields, many defined benefit pension schemes are now in a stronger funding position than they were a few years ago. To secure this improved status, schemes are looking to reduce investment risk by decreasing equity holdings and focusing on assets that will more likely provide the necessary cashflows to pay pensions.
-
White papersU.S. Bank Update Amid an Economic Turn
More than one year after the banking panic of early 2023, we reflect on the sector’s investment portfolios, liquidity, and profitability conditions.
-
White papersWhat does India’s benchmark inclusion mean for investors
Indian government bonds have been added to the global emerging market bond index, providing foreign investors access to India’s $1.3 trillion government bond market. The move could improve capital flows into the country, as well as stabilise yields.
-
White papersSeizing value in emerging market debt
Despite recent challenges, emerging market economies remain robust and are delivering positive growth. India is leading the charge, benefiting from secular demographic trends like a growing working-age population as well as resilient domestic demand. As China’s share of global growth declines, India is stepping in to fill the gap. More broadly, EM growth projections have been revised upward by the IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO), benefiting from country-specific factors.
-
White papersELTIF 2.0: Investing in private credit through open-ended funds
In this paper, we discuss the amended regulation on European Long-Term Investment Funds (ELTIF 2.0), the latest evolution of EU Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs). The first version of this fund structure was introduced in 2015 and aimed to finance the real economy by channelling non-bank capital to long-term infrastructure projects and SMEs.
-
White papersLiquidity optimisation for insurers: Building a bespoke portfolio solution
In the third part of our liquidity optimisation series, we look at how bespoke liquidity portfolios that take into account the interplay between different assets can suit the needs of insurers.
-
White papersNo winners in the Thames Water travails
Whatever angle you look at things from the prospects for future investment in the UK water sector don’t look good, for anyone. The travails of Thames Water especially (but other water companies are not exempt) have wrought such damage to the sector’s reputation that water, once a byword for the essence of life, is now more commonly aligned in headlines with words including risk, sewage and pollution.
-
White papersPrivate credit: Everything old is new again
How do credit markets diversify and potentially smooth out returns in a portfolio? John Popp and Chris Kempton from UBS Credit Investments Group (CIG) discuss the latest market developments, opportunities, and more.
-
White papersPrivate Credit: Lessons from a deal-making expert
In a volatile economic climate with inflation and interest rate uncertainties, Kevin Lawi, Head of Private Credit at Credit Investments Group in UBS Asset Management, provides insights on the current state of public and private debt markets
-
White papersCentral banks divergences on display
The Fed left interest rates unchanged in its latest policy meeting in July but acknowledged that price pressures are subsiding. This could encourage the Fed to reduce interest rates later this year. Across the Atlantic, the Bank of England (BoE) implemented its first rate cut since early 2020 on abating inflation in the UK. In contrast, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) raised policy rates for the second time this year to control upward pressures on inflation.
-
White papers2H 2024 Alternative credit insights: Investing for resiliency
Shifting signals on interest rates create opportunities
-
White papersThe case for investment grade private credit
Long a core allocation of life insurers portfolios, broader segments of institutional investors are recognizing the benefits of investment grade private credit. Originally concentrated in private corporates and infrastructure debt, investment grade private credit now includes more specialized areas such as credit tenant loans (CTLs) and esoteric private asset-backed securities (ABS).
-
White papersLDI: Elections and market reform competing for attention
Whilst most central banks erred on the side of caution, reticent to commence the monetary easing cycle in response to falling inflation and slowing growth, the ECB was the first to take the plunge. With the downside risks to growth in Europe much higher now given the political and fiscal uncertainty in France, as well as a slowdown in German manufacturing growth, the ECB’s deliberate vagueness on the path of easing has allowed it to retain optionality on future cuts.
-
White papersA Soft Landing Is Still a Landing
What do slowing growth, lower inflation, tight credit spreads and a steepening yield curve mean for our fixed income views for the rest of the year? If the big story of the moment in equities is the epic rotation out of mega-cap stocks and into smaller companies, the equivalent in fixed income is the ongoing, sharp unwind of a record-breaking U.S. yield curve inversion.
